Coïncidence
by IgnisVulpes
Summary: Coincidence. The prefix 'co' comes from the Latin 'com' which means "together," and incidence refers to an event or occasion. What we think of as chance encounters, turn out to be something much greater. Changed to "T" so more people can read. Chapters with mature content will be marked!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _A_ _o no Exorcist_ I don't own it! (But Kazue Kato does).

 **Timeline:** Begins with Camping Arc. Incorporates future arcs, so be wary of spoilers. Read at your own risk and pleasure.

 **Update Frequency:** I'm pretty unreliable. Busy life? Slow to write. I'll be good and finish it though.

 **Rating:** Technically **rated T** because it is appropriate for young adults and older. The chapters that have mature content will be marked beforehand. A synopsis will be at the end in case anyone doesn't want to read the spicier portions.

 **Artwork** : Curious? The cover was drawn by myself (someone told me Rin's nose looks like it belongs on a pig. Charming, no?

Cheers~

IgnisVulpes

* * *

Coincidence. It's a basic word when broken down. The prefix 'co' comes from the Latin root _com,_ meaning "together." _Incidence_ refers to an event or occasion. Combined, they describe "a remarkable occurrence of events or circumstances without an obvious connection."

Really.

In this world, where one atom decides if a molecule kills or gives life, where one grain of rice tips the scale, where one precise reaction causes a star to explode; do you believe the world so sloppy?

Perhaps it is.

Perhaps not.

Perhaps coincidences could be better explained as indirect scheming― _the hands of fate_ as some say. And for some reason or another, these hands just can't seem to stay away from our affairs.

._..._.

._.

"Will you not take this gamble with me," Mephisto Pheles challenged, undaunted even before the Grigori. "Will you gamble, that this child will become the demon king of _Gehenna_ , or will he become the Knights'… nay... Will he become Assiah's savior?!"

At that moment, Rin couldn't care less. Assiah or Gehenna... The entirety of his being focused on the sharp edge digging into his calf. Arthur had him pinned beneath an obnoxiously large sword, and muscle spasms threated to tear his leg open.

Sweat dripped down his temple. He favored a shaky breath instead of a pained scream. Damn it if he let any of these prejudiced bastards see his pain. Doubtful they would notice anyway. They were completely engrossed in deciding his fate like a feral animal.

"To bring up Satan's spawn? Inconceivable!"

Deciding if he deserved to live.

"Why are we even debating? Destroy this _monstrosity!"_

Deciding his own humanity.

"He's absolutely insane, allowing Satan's child to walk amongst us! _Bring down Mephisto_!"

The room began to spin. The air felt thick. Their banter began to pull more familiar voices from memory. Voices that hit harder.

 _"Why the hell is Satan's kid here in the academy?"_

 _"As if there's nothing strange about it?!"_

Everything hurt. His leg, his chest, his head.

"It's just a disgusting akuma! Get rid of it!"

Why? What did he do to deserve this? The embers inside him sparked. Why did they get to decide his fate for him?

"Shut the hell up!"

The Grigori halted their debate at his growl. More eyes than he could count fell on his shoulders.

"You bastards," Rin snarled, the flames inside purring. "Since the very beginning, you've been blabbering on and on! Don't just mindlessly judge people as you please!"

The heat collected, pooled, and overflowed. Those present recoiled as blue flames engulfed the teen.

Arthur twisted the sword. Agony tore through his leg. Rin slammed his fist into the ground, biting back a scream.

"I ain't your weapon… demon king… or savior," he growled, pulling himself together. "I'm Rin Okumura! And I'm gonna become the best exorcist you ever laid your eyes on!"

The hall exploded into a heated debate.

._..._.

._.

Outside that hidden court, the world continued down its timeline, oblivious.

Or perhaps not, since all the events that followed could be boiled down coincidence.


	2. Chapter 2

.

"Fear is only as deep as the mind allows."

 ** _\- Japanese Proverb_**

._..._.

._.

Rin stared aimlessly into the dark recesses of the Exorcist headquarters. Ordinarily, his thoughts were a one-way lane. Now, they were in chaos.

Blurs of blue, faces distorted by fear, shrill laughter drowning out the voice of reason, the sensation of a world fading to black―his mind burned with memories of the moment he lost himself to fire.

A door slammed somewhere nearby.

"Ya payin' attention, flame-brain?"

He blinked, and then Shura's fists were twisting into the sides of his head. Rin yowled, but she spoke louder. "Yer an absolute idiot, acting so high n' mighty in front of the Grigori! Tryin' ta die young?"

He shoved her back and grimaced, his leg none too happy. Shura's irritation wavered to concern but returned full force when he bit out energetically, "I defended myself. No way I was gonna take their judgment sitting on my ass!"

"Of all the idiotic fool-hardy crap I've seen ya pull! It's one thing ta completely ignore our warnings, but egging on the Grigori? That's a new level of stupid, even for you, Rin."

That one hurt. Countless physical blows and punches from her, yet somehow those words struck harder.

It must have shown because she gradually softened. "The best exorcist we ever laid eyes on, huh?" She gave him an appraising look, lingering on his poorly dressed wound. "Ya got a long way ta go, boy-o."

"I quite agree. Six months is no time at all."

Shura's rage flared the moment Mephisto appeared behind them, like a pot of embers receiving a gust of wind. She stormed up to him, voice matching the blaze in her eyes. "This all went accordin' to yer plan, eh?"

"You mean to suggest I anticipated the exorcist council discovering Okumura Rin's secret as Satan's spawn and made to present him as a weapon for the greater good of mankind? How suggestively calculating!"

"Mephisto."

"Need I remind you what the verdict could have been, Kirigakure-san? I believe the council's decision was rather tolerant."

The icy silence didn't deter him. He continued, "He destroyed private property, burned an entire forest to ash, and turned on his fellow exorcists. The council wanted to charge him with treason."

Everything Mephisto said felt like a bullet through the chest. It hadn't occurred to Rin just what could… what _would_ have happened had no one intervened.

Those dreadful moments came rushing back. He only wanted to protect his friends. When did that change? At what point did he lose sight of himself?

He remembered as he fought Amaimon, the battle began to blur, the colors fading to gray. Focusing became hard. Then he began to lose sight of what he was even fighting for. Why was he holding back? He couldn't remember. Then a thought struck him: why not just burn everything bright blue?

Rin shivered, remembering how exciting the idea had been. He had approached Shiemi in that awful state. Her terrified green eyes were the only image in sharp detail.

"What are ya talkin' about, as if this is all Rin's fault?" Shura yelled, grabbing Mephisto's collar. "What was Amaimon doing there in the first place?"

"Shura."

"Ya expect me ta believe it was just some shitty coincidence the King of Earth showed up at―"

" _Shura_."

"I'm busy Rin," the red-head turned and stopped.

Rin sat on his knees, head bowed.

"Please," he hissed, the position causing his wound to burn and pull with a vengeance. "Teach me how to use my sword."

"Hah?"

"Shura." His hands curled into fists. "Mephisto is right... I lost control. I could have―I _would_ have..." He lifted his gaze and found her image distorted. "Teach me how to use Kurikara!"

The red-head stared at him with a peculiar feeling. There was a name for it, something concrete to define it. She had seen this emotion before, but where?

And then it hit her.

 _Ahh,_ she thought, bitter-sweet. It was in the way Shiro looked at the twins. _T_ _his must be what ya felt when ya decided to save them._

She quickly plastered on the usual sarcastic smirk. "What a sight ta see. Havin' ya beg on yer knees is a nice change o' pace." Her sharp edge returned when she addressed Mephisto. "We're not done here, Mephisto."

Mephisto raised his hands in surrender, but his eyes belayed anything but defeat. "Whatever crimes you believe I've committed, my door remains open. At _all_ times," he added with a wink.

Shura clicked her teeth and released him.

Mephisto grinned. Obviously a man familiar with escaping the fires of hell. Sharp olive eyes turned to the boy. "Well then, Okumura-kun. Have you finally found the resolve to face your heritage?"

"I will learn to control the flames…" His expression was painfully earnest, a strange contrast to his usual carefree smile. While seeing the resolve in his eyes was an interesting change of pace, Shura found she missed the carefree light behind them.

"What're ya lookin' like that for, flame-brain. 'Course I'll take ya on."

Rin's face cracked. He let out a relieved sigh, bangs falling over his eyes. Shura turned away as the tears finally fell.

"Ya better be ready kid. Here on out, the _real_ training begins."

._..._.

._.

"What?! Since when did the academy have such a massive training room!"

Two days since the council's ruling and Rin roamed the massive concrete structure as though his life or death trial hadn't just ended. He rapped his knuckles against the gray walls, receiving a dull _thud_ in response. "Guess I won't have to worry about losing it in here."

Shura didn't share his excitement.

"Must be nice bein' so carefree," she said dryly, dropping a large sack onto the middle of the arena.

"Better than being an old hag."

A nerve popped in her forehead.

The next few minutes were wasted throwing less than clever insults. When they ran out of ideas, Rin finally addressed the sack. "What are those for?"

"The old hag doesn't want ta answer," Shura muttered bitterly, placing three candles in a row. "Sit yer butt down facing those candles. No further back. There ya go."

Rin sat with knees folded―no longer painful thanks to his fast-healing demon blood―and glanced critically from the candles to Shura. "Are scented candles the secret to your strength? You really are an old―"

Rin never finished the sentence as Shura's fist beat him to the punch. Or rather, to the ground.

"I want ya to light them, _A_ _ho_ *."

"Light them?" he hissed, glaring through tears of pain. "That's it? I thought you had some super secret training regime!"

"Oh don't worry. I got a little challenge for a special flower like yerself."

She leaned against the wall and turned serious. "Don't light the candle in the middle. Until you can light the outer two candles while leaving the middle untouched, I won't teach you any further."

Rin's eyes widened. "You're kidding! I have six months to pass the Exorcist exam and you're teaching me to be a human matchstick!?"

She shrugged, lips spreading into a Cheshire grin. "Ya made it sound like it'd be a piece o' cake."

Rin's mouth snapped shut, puffing out his cheeks. "It's just that this is too easy."

"Oh really, hot shot? Then light the damn candles."

"I'm about to!"

He took a breath, building the warmth inside of him. _Just the outer two,_ he repeated. He focused on the wicks of the two candles and pushed outward. The pressure left quicker than expected―Amaimon appeared in his head, followed by a fiery blue explosion.

The candles erupted into a wall of blue flames.

"What are ya doin' flame-brain?" Shura cried, jumping into action. "Rin, _enough!"_

Rin snapped out of the memory, staring wide-eyed at the wall of flames before him. "Oh shit!"

He cut off his energy, but the flames kept burning. They clawed at the air, roaring greedily to consume. Rin panicked. It was happening again; the flames weren't listening!

And then he felt it. _Fear_.

The flames felt it too. They fed on the negative emotion, ignoring the wishes of the vessel. They wanted to devour, to consume, to _burn._

Shura stepped between Rin and the flames.

He faltered, yelling at her to get back when she began dousing the flames with a fire-extinguisher.

The flames hissed, fighting to retain their strength. The battle between fire and water continued with no clear winner. It was a question of which would outlast the other. They soon had their answer.

The flames caved, fizzling gradually out of existence with vicious hisses. But they left behind a sign of their existence: an ugly black scar on the ground.

Shura dropped the empty container, dripping in sweat from head to foot. She gave Rin a pointed look.

" _Piece o' cake,_ huh?"

"I wasn't thinking clear." He watched tendrils of smoke rise from the nonexistent remains of the candles.

"Rin."

Shura's voice was hard. He wiped the worry from his face when he felt her piercing gaze.

"You're afraid, aren't you?"


	3. Chapter 3

.

"We must all face our demons sooner or later."

 _ **― Matt Abrams, She's Toxic**_

._..._.

._.

'"Me, _afraid_?" Rin snorted as he ran through the halls of the exorcist school, reliving last night. Sure, things had gotten a _little_ out of hand, but that didn't mean he wasn't in control!

He slowed as the classroom came into view, chest tightening uncharacteristically. It was his first day back to cram school since the council's trial and therefore the first time seeing any of his friends. Things... would be different now. _How_ different, he didn't know. All that hard work trying to fit in with them, and it only took one night to jeopardize everything.

 _Ah,_ _who am I kiddin'? They're my friends! It'll work out in the end,_ Rin encouraged himself. He reached for the door.

Bon and Konekumaru's horrified faces flashed in his mind.

His hand faltered.

 _You're afraid, aren't you?_

The door slid open aggressively before he could think of an answer. Rin let out a startled screech.

"Oh!" Shura started. She immediately grinned and plopped a hand on his shoulder, sending a cold shiver up his spine.

"There ya are, slacker! I was just about ta go looking for ya." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Did I work ya so hard last night ya couldn't get out of bed this mornin'?"

Her tone made him blush. "What are you suggesting, hag!"

Her smile widened. "Shame yer eyesight's goin' so young. Let's see how bad it is with some good ol' training."

"Training? But what about class?"

"You tellin' me yer eager to hit the books instead o' some baddies?"

"Last I checked, you were making me into a living match-stick."

Yukio sighed, setting down the book he had been reading to the Exwires. It hadn't been five minutes before his annoying older brother and the frivolous Shura interrupted it with their usual banter.

"Shura, nii-san; if you plan to disrupt my class hour, don't complain when I exact disciplinary action."

Rin and Shura stiffened. A dark aura emanated from the younger Okumura brother, his glasses an unnatural white.

Rin muttered a quick "hai" while Shura complained quietly.

"Excellent. What was that Shura? Mm, that's what I thought. Take a seat Rin; I'm resuming the lesson now."

Shura cleared her throat. "Yukio, did ya forget our conversation? The walkin' flamethrower needs more time with me."

"I'm aware you are in charge of Rin's physical attributes, Shura. However, the exam also covers knowledge of exorcisms, the art of summonings, demonic genealogies, and history of the Order, all areas in which my brother greatly lacks."

"Hey!"

Shura and Yukio ignored Rin. "Alright, four-eyes, but it ain't gonna be my fault when he sleeps through yer lessons."

"You make it sound like he doesn't already.

"I do not," Rin objected. Yukio and Shura both raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright, maybe a nap or two."

Yukio shook his head. "Let's have the results do the talking, Shura. Take a seat Nii-san."

There was a high-pitched shrill as a chair thrust backward, but it didn't belong to Rin.

"Don't fuck with me!" Bon yelled, jumping from his seat. "This whole situation is completely twisted! Why are you talking as though we're not even here? Why are you letting the son of Satan in our school? Why does everyone seem okay with this?"

An unsettled quiet blanketed the room.

The small flicker of hope that everything would be okay fizzled out for Rin.

"Suguro-kun," Yukio began, "I understand how unfair this has been to you all. Up until recently, my brother's lineage was hidden. Only a few high-ranking officials were aware and it would have remained that way"

"That doesn't explain what he's doing here in the first place," Bon seethed. "Or why we, his own _classmates,_ weren't told a thing before sitting in the same room as _Satan's bastard."_

Bon cut him off before he could respond. "I'm not asking you, sensei. I'm talking to that traitor." His eyes cut to Rin.

The rest followed suit. Cold, frightened and angry eyes. Their gazes seared his skin. "I didn't want to keep it hidden," Rin explained, feeling cold. "I'm still the same me as before! Nothing's changed except now you know!" He smiled. That logic would be enough, right?

Shiemi gasped and covered her mouth. Konekomaru paled and starting withdrawing into himself.

Rin's smile slowly fell, confused. Then he felt more than saw his tail swishing back and forth anxiously. The appendage immediately settled out of sight. He chuckled. "W-well I guess a few things are different."

Bon's knuckles were white. "You... how can you stand there actin' like the fucking idiot you always are... Is this all just a big joke to you?"

"Suguro-kun, that's not _―_ "

"You pretended to be our comrade when you're one of them?"

Rin's mouth snapped shut. One of them?

"Was your goal a lie too?"

Rin's eyes widened, mind reeling. The night he had awakened to his demon-form came rushing back. Rampaging demons, monks landing in broken heaps on the floor, Shiro fighting to protect everyone, to protect him. The angry, false words Rin screamed at him. The unearthly, demonic presence taking over his father's body.

Hot pressure built inside Rin at the image of his father's lifeless, bloody form on the ground.

"Don't you _dare_."

Bon's skin prickled at the angry voice coming from his once friend. Shura and Yukio recognized the danger.

"Rin," Shura warned. Yukio placed a hand on his gun.

He ignored them, eyes burning into Bon. "Don't you _dare_ call me a liar!"

"How can I not," Bon raged back, ready for a fight, "when you lied to us about being a _fucking_ _akuma!"_

Time reversed.

Rin was young. The sun blazed against his back. Chirping cicadas filled the summer air, followed shortly by the cries of a young boy. A child sat on the ground, cheeks stained with tears and blood.

 _"Sensei! Rin beat up Kotaro!"_

 _"Waaaaaaah! M-my nose... i-it hurts! Okaaaa-saaan!"_

 _"Rin! Why would you do such a thing? That's something only an akuma would do!"_

 _"What an akuma!"_

 _"Waaaaah! Rin's an akuma!"_

Akuma. That's what children called him. What teachers whispered behind cracked doors. What the Grigori condemned him as. What his friends hated him for being.

The realization hit him like a slap in the face. It didn't matter where he went or what he did, how many good deeds he performed, how much hard work he put forth; everything would be shadowed by the cursed blood he carried in his veins. When it came down to it, he would just be an akuma. One of them. An outsider.

Rin's teeth ground together. The same angry cry he insisted on throughout his life resounded in his heart. _I am not an akuma..._

The pressure ignited.

"I am _not_ an akuma!" he roared, blue flames sparking to life.

Konekomaru shouted in terror as the room burst into movement. Yukio and Bon leaped between Rin and the other students while Shura hooked the young teen with her leg, barreling him into the wall of the classroom.

Rin's angry protest was cut short as the older exorcist pinned his body to the wall.

"Rin," she said, her face inches from his. "Ya told me ya wanted to learn control. Right now, yer doin' a shitty job."

Rin glared at her. She didn't back down. Her eyes showed his own reflection: wild, untamed... demonic. He found himself staring into his own eyes, shocked that they belonged to him. The anger left, the flames smothered as he came back to his senses. Shame overwhelmed him.

The blue-eyed teen hung his head, but she didn't take her arm away. "Yukio."

"What is it?" he asked briskly.

"Today, he's mine."

Without waiting for a reply, Shura dragged Rin by the front of his shirt out the door. He didn't fight it but instead risked a glance at his classmates. The hurt, angry, and distant expressions stabbed his heart. Konekomaru was incredibly pale. Bon never wore a face so contorted by anger before. Shima and Izumo remained distant, almost as if they hadn't seen the entire exchange. Shiemi hung her head, shoulders quaking ever so lightly. When the first drops fell from her eyes, he wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

The door slammed behind them but Shura continued dragging him through the halls. Grunting, she propped him up against the wall. He wobbled, lost in his own world. His usually clear cerulean eyes were clouded and unfocused.

Shura huffed. _What a naive baka,_ she thought.

"Did ya really think everything would be the same?"

Rin raised his head.

"Surely ya saw somethin' like this happenin'. If ya step in their shoes, the kiddos' reactions were pretty realistic. Rather, it would've been unnatural if they accepted ya being Satan's son all willy-nilly."

Rin's gaze dropped again and Shura silently cursed. How was she supposed to handle mopey teens? She wasn't Shiro, for Christ's sake.

Shura racked her brain. Then came a moment of inspiration. She fished out her keys with a knowing smile.

"C'mon Rin; I wanna show ya somethin'."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

Thanks for being patient with these updates. This chapter is slow but full of information that will be vital later on. This is also where I start deviating from _Ao no Exorcist_ canon.

Happy reading, and as always―

Happy writing.

―IgnisVulpes

* * *

.

"Unusual doors often take you to the unusual worlds!"

 _ **― Mehmet Murat ildan**_

 _._..._._

 _._._

Shura opened the door with a flourish. "Tadah~"

To say it was disappointing would be lenient.

"Well? Don't be shy. Come in, come in~"

"You suck this, don't you?" Rin asked, following reluctantly into the old wooden room. It was darker and dustier than originally thought, particles in the air filtering out any stray light from the grungy windows. The stench of damp wood and disturbed dust overwhelmed his sensitive nose and eyes.

"Where is this?" Rin sniffed, noticing his breath for the first time. "It's cold."

Shura moved across the creaking floors and pulled out two jackets from a hidden closet, tossing one to him. "Put that on, fire-cracker. Even yer flames won't keep ya warm here."

She also grabbed thick pants, gloves, and boots for them. When Rin continued staring, she asked, "What's wrong with yer face?"

"No... I just... there's more cloth than skin for once."

She frowned at him. Then snorted when she realized what he meant. Arthur once called her usual outfits "unprofessional" and "scandalous." She always rebutted that he was an annoying old geezer and justified it by pointing out his stuffy layers. Him and the rest of the population. "Disappointed, are ya? Liked what ya saw?"

He scoffed. "That's disgusting, considering yer such an old h― _oof!_ "

She lashed out with a surprise attack, buckling his knees so he landed flat on his back _._

"Still a kid after all," she sighed, raising her palms up forlornly.

"S-says the one that can't take a joke," he choked, trying to catch the wind that had been knocked from him. He rose with a grunt, shooting daggers at the high-spirited Shura while her back was turned.

"Ready yet, princess?"

"How can I when you haven't told me what we're doin' here?" Rin grumbled, shoving a leg into the snow pants.

"It wouldn't be any fun if I told ya everythin'." She threw an arm around his neck and led him to a door at the back of the room even as he struggled to get his other leg in the pants. A blast of cold air slammed into the cabin before he finished.

"Jesus! Has Hell frozen over? This doesn't feel like Japan!"

"'Cause it's not, smarty."

She unhooked her arm and shoved him outside.

Of all the unholy, cruel, sadistic―cold electricity ran up his claves and spine as Rin stumbled into thick snow. He turned, planning to drag Shura out but paused when he noticed the room was actually an isolated cabin in a forest. Charming, in a horror-movie kind of way. The sun was nowhere to be seen, but his heightened vision made everything clearly visible in the dark.

"You're not planning on offing me here, are you?

Shura leaned against the door post with a snort. "Not a bad idea, but I've put too much effort into you already to let it go to waste." She pointed upwards. Rin followed along and had to stop his jaw from dropping.

Lights. Green and yellow lights danced across the sky. And so many stars. He'd never seen such an incredible amount at once before.

Shura watched him carefully. Her arms in satisfaction when she felt some of his strain ease. "This place," she explained, "was a present to the first-class exorcists and high ranked officials in True Cross."

The snow-covered mountains were layered in tall and thin needled trees. The cold, dry night air was filled with countless stars and dancing lights, both of which brought life to a sleeping, frozen land. A hell of a gift compared to the gift certificate to Ichigo's he got from Shiro last year. "Where is this?"

"America," she said, relishing the baffled disbelief on his face. "More specifically, the Brooks Mountain Range in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A restricted area because of its untouched landscape and diverse wildlife. Or so the public is told."

"What do you mean?"

"The wildlife is _diverse."?_

He frowned. So what if there were a lot of different... oh. Oh! "There's demons in the park they want us to take care of, isn't there?"

Shura sighed even as Rin's tail wagged in pride. That should have been obvious from the get-go. Maybe she _should_ have left him with Yukio...

"Still, for a place with demons, it's beautiful."

Shura glanced at him, how he nearly glowed with content and re-evaluated. Maybe it wasn't so bad an idea after all. If this place could heal his spirits like how it raised hers when… she shook away the thought. "So?" she asked, earning a curious glance. "Should we train here?"

Rin looked at her in awe. " _Here_?" The young teen's eyes swept across the landscape again. His tail swished. "Seriously?"

Shura nodded then became serious. "But first... Rin. About the classroom today..."

"Ah." His tail stilled. "Sorry, Shura. It's like you said; their reaction was normal. I just thought… anyways, I'll work hard. I'll show 'em I'm still the same old me!"

It was the second time Shura felt herself silent admiring the teen. Really. Talk about resilience. She smirked and tousled his hair.

"Oi! What are ya _ **―**_ "

"If it's you, you can do it."

Rin shut his mouth. Shura was giving him a strange look, one that reminded him of Shiro. It made him feel a gentle warmth. "A-anyway, was that all you had to say?"

Shura brought her hand back to her hip. "On that subject, yea." Her eyes drifted to the sky. "There's one other thing... How are ya feeling?"

Rin blinked, immediately suspicious at her rare concern. "Why are you asking?"

"Because o' where we are. It's not a trick question. Do ya feel even a little different?"

He paused and focused on his body, testing movements, tensing and relaxing muscles. "Now that you mention it, I feel... kinda light."

"It's probably because o' those," Shura explained, pointing to the dancing lights. "Those lights are produced from an interaction between the sun's charged particles and the earth's magnetic field." Shura turned and found Rin's eyes glazed-over. "The giant light show is from too much energy in the atmosphere."

"I see," Rin hummed, barely understanding at all.

Shura went on, "The lights usually appear between September and March here, and that's the height o' the demons' activity. They feed on the energy like a cold dessert. But it's not unique to just demons."

In a low voice, Shura began chanting and extended her arm. Rin watched as a small ball of golden light came to life in her palm. "Right now, I'm using my own energy to maintain this, but if I tap into what's around..." Her eyes closed in concentration. Suddenly, the ball grew three times its original size. The intensity of the light easily doubled, causing Rin to shield his eyes. The incantation ended quickly, and the young teen couldn't hold back his amazement.

"That's so cool! I didn't know exorcists could draw energy from around them!"

Shura took a few breaths. "'ts not that simple." Did she seem a little tired? "Not every exorcist can do it. Arias and Tamers are more attuned to this type o' trick. They summon demons or instill energy into fatal verses, so they have a compatibility with the energy around them. Even so, only disciplined exorcists can perfect the technique. Yukio hasn't been able to and I can barely hold the connection for more than a few seconds."

Rin hummed in disappointment. "What good is that if it just tires you out so quick? You barely held onto that light for ten seconds."

"True, but in a pinch, that little bit of energy can mean the difference in defeating a demon or losing to one." Her nose crinkled. "Though yer a giant ball o' flames, so I doubt you'll ever need to rely on this."

Rin snorted.

"However, since yer part demon, the energy _should_ flow to ya naturally."

Her pupil's brow furrowed. "So I'm a magnet?" he asked, looking at his hands suspiciously.

"More like yer body naturally draws in the energy to keep it functioning. It's a natural adaptation demons have to survive here. Assiah and Gehenna are mirrors, reflections of one another. From what our scientists understand, there isn't much compatibility between the energy in both realms. That's why a demon's miasma has negative effects on anything it touches. That's also why many demons can't survive here and don't cross the border."

"That doesn't make sense," Rin realized. He considered himself a prodigy for discovering a paradox. "If energy from Gehenna and Assiah is so different, how do demons exist here?"

"Are you a _baka?"_

Rin's ego was crushed. "Hah? It's a good question!"

"You learned that on day one o' cram school!" Shura scolded.

Rin paled, his pride dispelling into a wisp of smoke. "Oh. Well... let's pretend I was absent that day."

"Yeah, absent in the head," she growled, smacking him for good measure. "Demons survive by drawing in and transforming this world's energy. It's a natural process for them, one they've evolved. Coal Tar are a simple example. They possess dust an' dirt. It takes energy to do that, an' bein' low-level demons they get a majority of it from the surrounding area. 't's why Coal Tar are common in industrial areas an' cities. Some demons are strong enough to use a living being's energy. However, only upper-class demons have the control necessary to possess an' take over a living being's body. They have to have enough of their own energy to overpower whatever they're possessing. In essence, it's a battle of will between the _possessor_ and _possessee_."

Shiro briefly flashed into Rin's mind. He ignored the pang in his chest. "So this area, being that the lights are energy, is highly attractive to demons," Rin concluded, glancing at Shura for confirmation.

She nodded in approval. "The rangers here have numerous reports about wildlife behavin' oddly. Bears active in the dead of winter; horses raging through snow drifts instead of warmer areas; birds flying North instead of South for the winter; even plants growing too large or blossoming in extremely cold temperatures. The wildlife is plain odd when the Aurora is out. So, they called in True Cross an' lo 'n behold-we found a demon hot spot. Now it's a great place for upper exorcists to train. I hadn't planned to bring ya here until ya advanced some more but..."

She gave him a Cheshire grin. Rin paled.

"We're going to have such fun here."

That smile never boded well for him.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Your reviews/comments kep me motivated.

 **WriterKillsReader** _ **―**_ glad you've found it interesting. Unfortunately, this is the beginning of where I begin to stray from Blue Exorcist canon. It'll only get crazier from here, but I hope you'll stick around!

 _Cheers~_

IgnisVulpes


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

Hallo wieder, Lieblings

This is the (almost) original chapter five _before_ I made the error of deleting it―still wondering how I managed _that_. Of course, I had to re-write it in its entirety, but the action is the same as the old version. I might even dare to say it's _better_ than before, but that's just my ego talking.

I encourage you to leave a review with questions or feedback; I like hearing other thoughts besides my own, haha.

Cheers~

IgnisVulpes

* * *

.

"Friends show their love in times of trouble, not times of happiness."

― ** _Euripedes_**

._..._.

._.

The blonde sighed―for the tenth time in under five minutes. Izumo's brow twitched. "Shiemi, sigh one more time and I'm cutting all ties with you."

Instead of panicking like the violette* thought she would, the blonde moaned louder and rubbed her nose woefully into the book in front of her. "I can't help it, Izumo! I keep seeing his face in my mind. He just looked so devastated."

"Did you think he'd be happy being called an Akuma and a traitor?"

Shiemi's head shot up. "No! But―" Her peridot eyes flinched. "But I can't believe he would hide that from us! I thought we were his friends!"

"Yeah, he probably thought so too―which I assume is why he didn't tell us." Izumo sighed, thinking of the fiasco earlier in the week. "I wouldn't want to either, seeing how everyone reacted." Overreacted, more like it.

The blonde's face twisted in guilt. Her head fell back into the book with a groan. Because of this, she didn't hear Izumo mutter, "Even though mixed blood isn't uncommon."

"What should we do, Izumo?" the blonde continued balefully.

She turned a page in the demonology book. "About?"

"About Rin!" Gold strands fell in a disarray around her face as the blonde looked up. "Did you notice how tired he was today?"

"Wasn't paying attention."

"He sleeps through class quite often," she continued, oblivious Izumo's disinterest, "but he was sniffling a lot today. It sounds like a cold."

"In the middle of summer?"

"They happen any time of the year! I noticed him walking down that halls with Shura after class yesterday. Maybe the training is so hard that it wore him down."

Izumo turned, finally finding something interesting in all of this. "You're paying an awful lot of attention to him."

"Of course," she said. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to the blonde. "He's my friend!"

Izumo examined Shiemi. " _Just_ a friend?"

The blonde gave her a confused look. Izumo sighed. Anyone that dense would surely _sink_ if they ever went swimming. "Nevermind. So? What are you going to do?"

Shiemi glanced down sheepishly.

"Don't tell me you've been rambling this whole time without a plan? I thought you wanted to do something about this, not just complain until my ears fell off."

"I do want to do something!"

"Shh! You're too loud," Izumo grumbled as a few glares were sent their way. This was the last time she would ever sit in the library with this girl.

"Sorry."

The violette* pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. The conversation was giving her a headache. "So? What will you do?"

The blonde sat back and pursed her lips. Izumo could almost see the lightbulb turn on above her head.

Shiemi turned to her with a kind smile.

._..._.

._.

Rin sneezed. He rubbed his nose suspiciously. Someone was talking about him. Perhaps Bon and Konekomaru were discussing how they wanted to talk to him again. Or maybe the girls were gossiping about his devilishly good looks. He smiled boyishly, knowing Shiemi was the _last_ girl on earth to have those kinds of thoughts. Still, the thought of her gave him a pleasant warmth.

"You'll scare the ladies away looking like that."

Rin's smile fell. "I don't want to hear that from an old hag."

Shura snorted and continued past him. He fell in line with her naturally, lacing his hands behind his head. "So what's the plan for today?" he asked, watching her pull out the familiar silver key.

There was a click and a momentary flare of energy as the hallway door became a portal. Rin's nose scrunched as they entered the dingy cabin once more.

"We've worked on yer senses for a while, but there hasn't been much progress." Her eye slid accusingly to his. "Ya just can't sit still for five damn minutes."

Rin snorted and started pulling on winter gear. "We've just been sitting and breathing and freezing our asses off. I'm ready for some fighting!"

Shura's brow furrowed. Rin now understood it was a warning for future violence and wisely quieted down. "We haven't been sitting and breathing; we've been _meditating_ , and if ya could focus for just five minutes, we wouldn't be spending days on this!" She shoved on a boot and stood, already bundled in her gear.

"Y'know, for someone who rarely wears more than a bathing suit, you're pretty fast at putting clothes on," he commented dryly.

She cocked a hip―an oddly sensual move even in her bulky attire. "It's more of a show when I take em off."

"Should you be talking to your pupil like that?" he spluttered, suddenly finding his shoelaces very interesting. He heard a laugh.

"Yer so naive, kiddo."

"Better to be naive than a pervy old―"

He let loose a strangled cry as Shura flattened him to the floor. Another breath wheezed out of him as the red-head sat on his back.

"Aren't you one to call the kettle black," she drawled, crossing her legs as he failed to shove her off. "Bet I can guess what gave ya that disgustingly happy expression earlier. Thinking about a certain little blonde?"

The heat rose to his cheeks. "Wha―I was _not_! Get off me!"

She laughed even harder but obliged. Rin rose with a glare. "If you're done playing games, I'd like to train now."

She snickered, amused by the angry blush on his face. "Alright fine, I'll let ya off. For _today_ ," she added, relishing how it made him scowl. She unzipped her white coat and chanted while a hand hovered over a purple tattoo on her chest.

Rin's eyes bulged. "What the hell is that for!"

"This," Shura said, adjusting the camouflaged sniper-rifle that had appeared in her arms, "is because ya can't keep yer arse still."

"So you're just going to finish me off?" he squawked.

Her lips stretched into a smile exposing her canines, giving him a run for his money on who looked more demonic. The color drained from his face. "I'm going to die before ever taking the exam."

"Relax, princess. I'm using special bullets for today." She plucked something from a small bag at her side and tossed it to him. He caught and eyed it suspiciously. It was a rubber ball, pliant between his fingers.

"Paintballs?"

"Close." She loaded a few into her rifle. Opening the door with an unceremonious kick, she gestured for him to follow. Then she took aim at a nearby tree and fired.

Shards of bark exploded in all directions as the trunk was stripped clean. A bare patch the size of his head remained where the bullet had struck. Rin's mouth gaped.

"Whoops," Shura said, earning a horrified look from Rin. "Set it a little too high."

" _A little_?" Rin repeated, glancing from her to the violated tree. "At this rate, I won't have to worry about the exorcist exam!"

"Calm down, flame-brain. They aren't actual bullets. They're custom ordered paintballs filled with Holy Water. Once I adjust this… there. Now it should only smart instead of doing... well, that."

" _Should?_ "

"So today we're playing tactical hide-n-seek."

"You're definitely trying to change the subject!"

"Aw, come on. Yer the one that wanted to train. If yer so worried about gettin' shot, why'd ya become an exorcist?"

His eyes widened in disbelief. "I wanted to be an exorcist, not a police officer! Last time I checked, demons weren't carrying around military grade sniper rifles!"

"One, you never know when they'll start, and two, exorcists are basically police officers for Gehenna's residents."

Rin opened his mouth to argue but stopped. That... actually made some sense. "Fine. But I want a weapon too."

"No."

"A pistol."

"No."

" _A_ water gun _."_

 _"_ No."

"A slingshot."

" _No."_

"A sti―alright fine," he said, raising his hands in defeat when the rifle came to rest between his eyes by a very annoyed Shura. "I'll just hide then."

She smirked in triumph. "There's a challenge too."

"You mean not getting a hole blown through my head _wasn't_ the challenge?"

She tossed him a walkman, choosing to ignore his comment. "You get fifteen minutes to hide anywhere on the mountain. High or low, tree or snow-cover―doesn't matter so long as you stay on the slope. After time's up, I come find you. If I can't find you within two hours, I'll call our game off with this." She wiggled her walkie at him.

Rin nodded slowly, examining the landscape. "So how do I escape with my life?" he joked, returning his attention to her. She didn't laugh. Why didn't she laugh? That wasn't supposed to be a serious question.

She held up two fingers. "One of two ways. Either the time limit passes without me finding you, or you find me first."

"I thought I was the one hiding?"

"You are, and _when_ I find you―" she swung her sniper until the end rested between his eyes again "―I'll give you fifteen seconds before I shoot."

His gulped. How in the hell was he supposed to search for her _while_ hiding? And then it made sense. "You want me to use my senses."

She smirked. "Bingo."

Rin sighed, watching his breath cloud. Hiding from this she-demon? Hah! Talk about impossible. He couldn't wait to see her dumbfounded expression when he did the impossible. He shot her a rebellious smile. "When do we start?"

"Now." The red-head shut her eyes and began counting obnoxiously loud for good measure.

Rin spent a few seconds debating whether to shove a snowball in her face or start running. One glance at that really big gun was all it took to pick. Tearing himself away from her, Rin chose a random direction. _Distance._ Distance would give him time to think of a strategy.

It immediately became known that the snow would be his biggest adversary. Running through it was exhausting and left an extremely obvious path. Unfortunately, there was no other way to travel; the trees were unsuited for climbing, and the uniform landscape had no pre-drawn path. The snow was untouched and recorded everything―it wouldn't be a question of _if_ Shura found him, but _when_.

Cursing, Rin angled higher. There were a few areas of interest he'd noticed while they trained. One was on the steeper segment of the slope, an area full of broken rocks and ice shelves. If he could reach it in time, it would be a perfect maze to hide in.

However, the problem of the tracks remained. In a moment of pure genius, Rin broke off a branch of spruce and let it drag behind him. It at least made it less obvious as he ran.

As it soon turned out, fifteen minutes would not be enough.

Not even halfway there, Rin had to stop to catch his breath. While easing the burn in his lungs and legs, the teen reassessed his options. According to the walkman, ten minutes had already passed. It would be impossible to reach the ice shelf in time.

Taking a deep breath, Rin stood and looked around hurriedly. The trees were spread apart, but further up ahead he found his salvation―a small shelter formed by two trees and a rock.

Continuing his streak of genius, Rin created two extra paths to throw Shura off before covering his tracks to the shelter. Once there, he shoveled out a spot in the snow and positioned the branch to cover his head. All there was left to do now was wait in the hole.

He checked the walkman nervously. Shura would have started her hunt now. How long would it take her to find him?

More than twenty minutes, it seemed. And it took him only two minutes to reach a single conclusion of monumental importance.

"This is _worse_ than meditating."

The boredom was suffocating. He tossed a twig to the side, having stripped its needles off, organized them by color and then size, then setting them on fire after spelling out the words "snow" and "hag." Of course, all the snow around him had melted in the process.

Whispering a few uncreative curses, he used the stripped branch to frantically drag more snow around him. Thankfully a bullet didn't fly through his head. Settling back with a sigh, Rin turned to his arguably less destructive thoughts. The lessons Shura literally made him _sit through_ replayed in his mind _._

 _"The object is to not think. Ya want to let yerself exist in the moment." The redhead sat in the traditional Ad vivo position―legs crossed in a pretzel with hands resting palm up on the knee. Her back was straight and her eyes were closed, but Rin knew she was perfectly alert and oriented. "Shouldn't be too hard since yer head's usually empty."_

 _He turned with a jab ready when she interrupted, "Face forward and focus, flame-brain. Now's not the time for jokes."_

 _Hah! Wasn't she one to talk? Rin followed her order with a begrudging huff._

 _"Now, focus yer breathing. Feel the cold air flowing in and out o' yer lungs, how yer heart pumps blood with every beat, how the snow presses softly beneath ya, cold and fresh. Feel the wind, how it glides across yer face, wrapping around you, around the trees, around everything." She let silence fall around them for a few moments. "Can you feel it?"_

 _"I feel…" There was an odd sensation bubbling inside of him, one pulling him from his thoughts, one making him feel―his stomach growled right on cue. "Hungry."_

Rin chuckled at the memory, rubbing the spot where Shura had smacked him immediately after.

Crossing his legs and leaning against the rock, he focused on breathing, letting it dominate all thought. The cold air infiltrated his lungs, the subtle rustling of the trees caressed his ears, the smell of clean, pure air enticed his nose; he let his body experience it, trying to live purely in the moment.

And that's when he heard it. An odd _scrape_ a few feet away. He didn't worry about it at first, too immersed to return to rational thought; but as the noise came closer, he started to pay more attention to it. Could it be Shura, sneaking around the trees? The back of his mind tingled. Was there something important about her being so close?

 _Fifteen seconds._

Rin flinched as the number sounded like a bell in his mind. Wholly committing himself to the sound, he relied on his demon ears to pinpoint the source of the noise.

He had her. With a triumphant shout, he leaped from the hiding spot. "Found you!"

A bullet collided with his leg―from the _opposite_ direction―and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. A bundle of white feathers flew from the tree he'd shout at as Shura's raucous laughter invaded his ears.

"Never thought ya'd mistake a bird for me!

Crestfallen, Rin rubbed his leg and sent a glare her way. "This is way unfair! You can't just shoot me with a damn rifle!"

"Course I can."

"And why's that?"

"'Cuz it's a good incentive."

"Right… incentive. Nothing like a good bullet in the face to keep you motivated," he grumbled sorely, ignoring how it scratched the back of his throat.

"I shot your knee, kiddo. Man, Yukio's gotta teach ya demonics _and_ anatomy."

Rin huffed, too tired to participate in their usual tirade. He could barely think beyond the growing pain behind his eyes. "Whatever. What else is on our agenda?"

Shura's eyes widened when he didn't take the bait. She watched him suspiciously. "We're headin' in for the night."

Well, that was unexpected. "Already?" he croaked, not bothering to keep the hope out of his voice.

She nodded once. "Mm. Ya look like Hell."

"I'm flattered."

"I can tell by the blush on yer face."

"I am _not_ blushing."

"I know," she said cryptically, already walking back down the mountain. Rin huffed again and followed his master.

"Here."

He barely looked up in time to catch the metal thermos thrown at him.

"Should help warm ya up a bit."

Rin unscrewed the lid and gave the contents a suspicious sniff. It smelled okay. Beneath its sweet aroma was a distinct tang of herbs. He took a hesitant sip―

"Least that's what Shiemi told me."

―and effectively spat out the brew with a choked cough. Shura glanced at him with a raised brow.

"S-Shiemi made this?"

Shura shrugged. "I assume. She seemed rather flustered, asking me to give it to ya," she said, digging in her ear with a pinky. She examined the offending finger and flicked something off of it. "Said somethin' along the lines of it boostin' yer immune system."

Rin drank in every word along with the brew. It was delicious; soothing, warm, mildly sweet―all things that reminded him of the smiling blonde, her crisp green eyes glowing with happiness. Had she really been thinking of him? Had she made this amazing drink thinking of how he was feeling? If so... there was definitely hope to rebuild their friendship! Maybe even kindle something more intimate between them.

The thought tinted his face red as he tried and failed to keep a grin off his face.

"Oi. You'll scare the ladies away looking like that."

* * *

Violette* - refers to Izumo since she has "violet" hair. Same concept as referring to Shiemi as "the blonde." I didn't want to confuse anyone with pronouns, so this was my solution.

Chikushō*― auf Englisch, it means "damnit."


	6. Chapter 6

.

"Even though this world is narrow, it is wide... to those who understand.  
This world isn't the only one."

 **―** _ **CLAMP**_

._..._.

._.

It was a lot harder than it should have been.

Rin growled, wiping Holy Water from his face for the third time.

"Wrong again," Shura sang, wrapped around the underside of a tree branch. The redhead's sly smiles and mannerisms might initially fool anyone about her skills, but the stinging water on Rin's face told him enough **;** she was an expert hunter and weapon handler **―** and more demonic than him.

Unwinding her legs, Shura landed gracefully on all fours, a lioness cornering her prey. "I can't tell if yer gettin' closer or further away at this rate."

Rin growled. "Why do I have to hide every time? This would be much quicker if you changed positions."

"Do ya think you'll have that luxury in the field?" She waltzed over and landed a clean punch on the top of his head. He squawked and back-stepped away from a second hit. "If yer so irritated with how long this is takin', control yer senses already! _Again_."

Rin suppressed a groan. Instead, he curled and stretched out his back, relishing the loose burn in his taut muscles. For _five hours_ they'd been training in the cold Alaskan wilderness. Five hours, and yet they barely stopped for five minutes.

Shura pulled out the walkie-talkie. "Get ready boy-o."

Already? Rin jerked up, a complaint ready on his tongue. One look from Shura silenced it. "Time starts... now!"

Biting back a curse, he forced his legs to move. Pushing through the weariness, his senses came to life under the dark oak and dense pine cover. The dimming light didn't inhibit his eyesight and his sharp ears picked up a range of sounds in the quiet snow-scape. Navigating the dark was second nature, so he focused instead on _feeling_ the world.

And hopefully less Holy Water.

Three minutes passed. Then five. His legs burned. Seven minutes. Eight. How much distance was between them? Rin slowed to a stop, gulping the cold, clean air. After satisfying his greedy lungs, he focused beyond the burn inside his chest. Rin closed his eyes and let his senses roam.

 _Cold._ The first and most abundant sensation. Cold air. Cold snow.

He pushed, looking past the obvious, searching for detail. The wind whistling through pine needles, the trees' strong bases creaking, groaning under the cold. The forest became vivid in his mind, an expanse of green and shadow.

And to the left? His pointed ear twitched. It wasn't the wind, but something crunching. Or chewing. Twenty **―** no, thirty meters away. A deer?

His ear twitched again. There was a subtle rustling above him. It sounded like... feathers.

Rin opened his eyes. To the left, a lone buck grazed. It glanced up with half-chewed twigs in its mouth before prancing away. When he looked up, a pair of golden eyes flashed. A large snowy owl unfurled its wings and took to the sky.

Despite his exhaustion, Rin's lips curled. He was improving. That alone gave him the will to climb the slope.

The last eight minutes passed slowly. He didn't bother hiding. Sitting wasn't his strong suit, especially in the frozen hell-scape trying to hear a bullet that would inevitably hit him in the face. So he wouldn't. _Oh, no._ This time he would keep Shura moving.

The sun sank, pulling cool shades of blue and gray over the land. Rin grinned mischievously, knowing his eyes outmatched Shura's in the dark. This time he would finally out-compete those damn sniper eyes.

As the world darkened, the snow began to glow a noticeable shade of green. It drew Rin's eyes to the sky, where he found the aurora beginning its dance.

It was beautiful. Something about its twisting waves and bold colors resonated with him. Perhaps it was the way it stuck out against a solid black sky, so colorful and unnatural in the muted landscape. Or the way the leaves and snow reflected its glow. Something so foreign, and yet it fits perfectly in its environment.

Underneath its light, Rin's exhaustion faded. The lack of sleep, constant running, Shura's endless attacks, the stress of an impending trial, the awkward strain between him and his classmates; like a recharging battery, new energy loosened his body. He could run for however long, climb however high, burn everything the prettiest of blues **―**

Rin stumbled in the snow. The thought came from nowhere, and because of its startling essence, now burned in his mind. The once relaxing warmth now prickled his body. Was that what he wanted? Was that what the warmth flickering in his core craved? To just _burn_?

The flames inside him flickered with an eager _yes._ The other-worldly warmth curled around his insides, promising to protect him, promising to make everything better if he would just _let them out._

Rin took a sharp breath. No. This wasn't right; this wasn't him. It was the pull from the other side. Maybe this is what Shiro meant when he said people often heard the call of the abyss.

Rin breathed, begging the cold air to snuff out the heat inside him. The fire struggled in retaliation, desiring, craving, _pleading_ to burn. He refused. It recoiled from his aversion, and he swore the fire had a mind of its own as it receded with a hiss into whatever dark place remained of Kurikara's weakened seal.

Rin swallowed as the heat faded, raising his hands for good measure. They were gloved in black leather, slightly curled against the cold. Just a pair of normal, human hands. Not blue. Of course not; his hands were normal. _He_ was normal. Not an **―**

 _"Akuma!"_

Rin whipped his head around. The voice was a furious whisper, loud enough for his ears to catch. He scanned the surroundings. The trees were dark and gave away nothing. Wind slipped between their leaves as they glowed beneath the aurora's light.

 _"They keep coming..."_

 _"Keep searching..."_

 _"...can't tell friend or foe..."_

 _"Doesn't know."_

"Who's there?" Rin cast out his senses even though he didn't expect them to catch anything. Unfortunately, they did.

It would have been unnoticeable without his heightened senses, but Rin's wide eyes saw the subtle change in the trees. They had become bigger **―** not physically, but it was as if their trunks, branches, and leaves couldn't fully contain them. Everything **―** needles, branches, and roots **―** thrummed with energy.

"What the **―** " Rin grimaced, a rush of energy encasing him. It had the same sensation of being smothered by too many bodies in the center of an over-crowded market. The voices returned, more solid than before, their words dripping with disdain.

 _"How does it tread mortal soil?"_

 _"Mixed blood."_

 _"Burns the air."_

Rin took a raspy breath and covered his ears.

 _"Not one or the other."_

 _"Half-and-half."_

 _"It came."_

 _"It walks."_

 _"It burns…"_

The voices whispered in every corner of his mind, running over themselves, cutting one another off. Rin couldn't block them out, couldn't think over them. They kept talking, kept growing louder. He growled when it became too much. "Shut up, shut up, _shut up!"_

A circle of blue flames erupted at his feet. The snow melted like cotton candy.

The voices hissed.

 _"He burns."_

 _"Burn, burns, burning..."_

 _"It will burn."_

 _"To ash."_

 _"He'll burn, burn, burn."_

 _"Burn through snow_ ―"

 _"Ice_ ―"

" _Flesh_ ―"

 _"Burn through time_ **.** _"_

Rin was running faster than he ever had. Whispers ghosted past his ears, but he refused to listen anymore. He cursed and left the tree cover, collapsing to the barren mountain side.

The whispers disappeared as soon as he did, but that didn't stop the flames from full-on _demanding_ _him_ to march into the forest and burn down every last fucking tree. Rin struggled against the raging warmth, resisting the pull of his **―** no, _Satan's_ power. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Shura's voice rang out:

 _"Control yer breathing. It's the one thing you always have control over, Rin. Fire depends on air. Control the air, control yer fire."_

He took a breath in.

The voices were gone; he had control.

He breathed out.

Energy saturated the air. Every nerve tingled as though electricity crackled along his skin.

He breathed in.

The world had looked... _different_ in that forest. Like an extra layer had been thrown over it; one made of threads. Threads he could reach out and pluck if desired. Rin breathed out sharply.

Unnerved, he fished inside his coat pocket for the walkie-talkie. "Shura... are you there?"

Her reply was painfully slow. Eventually, her voice chirped, "Oi, whaddaya think yer doin' in the middle of a trial?"

"Where are you?"

A pause. "That's not how this works, kiddo."

"Shura."

Another pause. Was he being too obvious? "I'm followin' yer trail."

"Do you hear anything?"

"Yeah, yer voice."

"No. Anything _unusual,_ " Rin pressed.

"Yer voice," she said again, then added, "Nothing I shouldn't be hearin' besides that. The wind and trees. What's got yer tail in a knot?"

Shura was either lying through her teeth or didn't hear them. It made no sense for her to lie to him, so that left the latter. Which meant he'd hallucinated the whole thing, or it involved some demonic part of him. He sighed, finding neither option very appealing.

Gray clouds had covered the aurora when he left the forest, snow starting to fall shortly after. The world was a calm monotony, as though the whole event had never happened.

Rin shut his eyes and breathed. Hallucination it was then. "No, ne'ermind. It was just the wind."

"I told ya ta feel the world, not hallucinate about it **.** "

The corners of his mouth twitched when she hit the nail on the head.

"You sure yer alright? You sound spooked, kiddo."

Rin kicked himself to a run, too wound up to stand still. The snow began falling in heavy sheets, blurring the landscape. "It was nothin'," he lied. "I think I finally know what you mean by 'feeling' the world."

"Well, ya still haven't **―** me **―** "

A strong gust carried off Shura's words. There was nothing to protect his face from it. "Shura?"

Her response cut in and out. "Rin, what **―** ay?"

The temperature plummeted. He shivered, subconsciously drawing on the flames' warmth in response. The scenery had turned blinding white. "First, a talking forest and now a blizzard? What the hell is wrong with Alaska?" He blinked away the snow, irises narrowing into slits rimmed with red.

His demon vision pierced the blizzard. Roughly thirty feet away stood a rock outcropping covered in snow. The two large rocks must have fallen against one another in a different time, creating a protected niche beneath them. The dark shadows promised shelter. Rin wasted no time, charging towards them to escape the snowstorm.

"Shura," Rin called once inside.

No response.

After three days of non-stop bullets to the face, he actually _hoped_ Shura would find him. This time, he let his face stretch into a smile. Sighing in defeat, he slid down the smooth rock and watched the snowstorm outside. Once his eyes started complaining from the brightness, he turned back to the gentler shadows. He didn't need to watch. If it was Shura, she'd find him.

That left him to stare absently at the rock. Perhaps it was a trick of the lighting or his exhausted brain, but it almost looked like there were grooves in the rock. He chuckled halfheartedly. "If this is another demon-thing..."

Removing his right glove, Rin focused intently on his palm. The energy trickled out.

A blue flame snapped to life, engulfing his entire hand. He yelped and cut off its energy immediately, causing the large blaze to disappear.

Cursing, he reached up. Finding his eyebrows intact, he sighed and tried again.

A candle's flame. He just needed a flicker. A _flicker._

An ember smaller than his pinky appeared. It cast a soft blue light over the walls. The grooves morphed into curves and symbols.

They were so captivating that Rin completely ignored his successful control of the flame.

Instead, he brought it closer. His other hand traced the symbols, following them towards the back of the rocks. The blue light cascaded over intricate carvings and designs. Some looked like waves of water. Others like mountains. Another could have been an angel or large bird. His finger traced the outlines until they delved beneath the snow-cover.

Curious, he started brushing it aside. Sure enough, it revealed an unrecognizable script.

Rin rocked back on his heels, thinking. Putting out his fire, he walked to the entrance. The storm continued to rage. What would Shura think of this? At this rate, they'd never make it home on time. Alaska was 17 hours behind Japan, and if it was already past midnight here… that meant around five back home. He'd left dinner for Yukio, though that idiot probably wasn't home either. Probably wouldn't be when Rin got back either. Recently he'd rarely seen his brother outside of school.

The crunching of snow drew Rin from his thoughts. He peered through the storm, hunting for a glimpse of red. He opened his mouth to yell but immediately froze. Storm or not, this was a trial―she made that _painfully_ obvious throughout their sessions. Perhaps this time, the hunted would become the hunter.

Rin stepped back into the shadows. Though he couldn't see her, Shura's footfalls were audible to his sensitive ears. That was plenty of enough direction.

With a grin, Rin gathered a tight ball of snow. And waited. The crunching came closer. His ear twitched, guiding him in the right direction. When the sound was louder than his thudding heart, he chucked the snowball with all his strength.

His reward was a surprised grunt―which quickly deepened to an angry snarl.

The smile fell from Rin's face.

A roar sent a powerful gust of steam through the air, strong enough to knock Rin backward. The blizzard cleared momentarily. Rin really wished it hadn't.

Large snout. Curved tusks. Two beady red eyes. A massive black boar stood before the entrance, miasma oozing from its nostrils. Its misshapen head swiveled and looked Rin dead in the eyes. The blizzard returned full force and cut off their eyesights a moment later, but it was a moment too late.

The boar shrieked.

Rin barely moved back fast enough as it slammed into the shelter. The blow sent snow, ice, rock, and Rin flying. The blue-eyed teen smashed into the back of the cave, gasping as pain ricocheted through his body.

By a stroke of luck, the small opening of the niche prevented the boar from gouging him right then and there. It thrashed and pawed the ground instead, trying to shift the slabs. The boar snarled, foul-smelling saliva dripping from its yellowed teeth.

Rin paled, realizing how bad this was. He was trapped. Without Kurikara or a single weapon. An eerie sense of clarity came over him as his panic-induced heart shot adrenaline through him. Heat built in his core twice as strong. He glanced down at his hands.

His earlier fear was wrong; had at least _one_ weapon.

The boar stepped back, shaking its head. Rotting blood and miasma dripped onto the snow with a hiss.

Rin balled his hands into fists. He reached for the same warmth he constantly fought back. A voice whispered in the back of his head.

 _"Burn, burns, burning."_

The boar charged.

The flames flared to life, like dying embers receiving a gust of fresh oxygen. They singed the edges of his very soul, threatening to consume him.

Blue fire poured out from the small opening, melting rock, snow, and flesh. The ground creaked as the boar reared back. It crashed down hard on the frozen land.

And that's when the world collapsed. Faster than he could take a breath, the ground caved. One second face to face with the boar **―** the next, barreling down a wall of ice.

Rin didn't get the privilege to scream as he clawed the too-smooth ice for purchase. Through some higher power, his legs made their way beneath him before he hit the ground. Muscle and bone and tendon burned and creaked from the impact. Rin found his voice again as pain seared through his legs. Something wet trickled down his arm.

 _Klink. Tink_.

He craned his neck upwards, half expecting the boar to crash down on top of him.

It didn't.

Instead, ice fragments fell from the large hole where he once stood.

Rin groaned, pulling out the walkie-talkie. _"Shura,"_ he gasped out. The echoes repeated her name. "Shura, I need you to answer," he said, listening as the echoes now copied the boar's shrieking. "I ran into a demon on the mountain side. It knocked me into a cave **―** or more like I melted my way into the cave... can you hear me?"

A static-ridden reply returned, "... whe… ou?"

"Your voice is cutting out... Shura, can you hear me?"

"... he… wh… app… baka."

"Of course _baka_ comes across clearly," he huffed. The device gurgled static. Rin slid it into his pocket. Grunting, he tested his body. His left arm was burning, a side effect of his demon blood working to heal a nasty gash stretching from his elbow to mid-arm. That didn't bother him so much as the screaming in his ankles and calves. He breathed through the waves of pain. After many mumbled curses, the pain dulled enough for Rin to slowly rise.

The cave was massive. The walls were ice **:** clean, cold, and shadowed in blue. A downward-sloping ledge ran along the length of the walls until it reached the bottom **―** a good three stories below. Rin's stomach lurched. Suddenly his rocky landing on the ledge didn't seem so bad.

A large boom echoed in the cavern. Rin glanced up, expecting to see the boar come barreling down on him. That vision drove him to find another exit, and his eyes locked on a light-source near the back of the cave. So he half-skidded, half-tripped down the ledge of ice.

A few odd details stuck out to him on the way down. Like the spiral stairway. Or the ice pillars stretching from the ground. Or the same swirling designs from the slabs etched in larger versions on the walls. Or the still and dry air left unperturbed for decades. It all led up to one question: what the _hell_ was this place? A secret chamber? A frozen castle?

The ceiling was fifty feet high and bigger across. The architecture was more impressive when he reached the bottom. Ice pillars stood regally around a raised mound in the center. An altar, perhaps? He crept closer. It was shaped like... he counted six sides. A six-agon, he concluded*. It had 3-layers like a cake, each tier smaller than the last. In the center was a bird bath. Okay, probably not that, but the thin base and round basin looked suspiciously like the ones in Shiemi's garden. Only this was more ornate. And bigger.

Rin climbed the alter without inhibition and traced the rim with a bare hand. It was made of stone **―** smooth, cold, dry to the touch. Carvings lined the sides. This time it depicted people, holding glasses stretched out towards **―**

There was a resounding crack.

Rin tensed, waiting for the sound of a pissed off boar to land in the cave, but it didn't. In fact, it had fallen completely silent. Why did that worry him more? When had the beast gone quiet? His skin prickled. The air felt charged as it did in the forest. He left the altar, creeping across the cave. Listening. Watching. As he approached the light, instinct told him this wasn't a good idea. But that would leave him with the now silent demon boar. Rin chose the strange glow.

He approached and found it was a tunnel leading... somewhere. Embedded crystals in the wall glowed softly, plenty for Rin's eyes.

He took a step. Then another, more and more curious. His hand grazed the walls. They were incredibly smooth **―** not something nature would do. It wound further into the mountain side, then dipped and headed down. He followed for a while, then came to a stop.

A dead end.

Rin clicked his teeth. His hand rose to the wall without consent from his brain. The blockage seemed to vibrate gently beneath his touch.

Strange. Ice was frozen water. Frozen water was cold, yet this felt the same temperature as his skin.

Rin took his hand off and glanced around. Why did everything have to be so weird? Was the world picking on him? Was it because he had inappropriate thoughts about Shiemi, the most innocent and beautiful girl in the world? It _must_ be divine retribution.

He rubbed his temples, shaking Shiemi out of his head. Instead, he extended his senses. The lines of energy came quicker this time. He felt the dull presence of the ice and the warmth offered by the lights. However, the blockage was different. It possessed an odd energy, one Rin didn't recognize.

The gears turned in his head. Perhaps…

Rin positioned both hands on the blockage **―**

And stopped cold. A deep chill had entered the tunnel. He shivered **―** not from the cold, but from the sudden and singular word reverberating in his mind:

 _Don't._

The air was heavy, the electricity palpable. Someone was there. He turned.

Nothing **.**

No. He could _feel_ it. And whatever it was could feel him.

 _Don't open it._

His hair stood on end. The sense of being in the wrong place weighed down heavily on him. Stiffly, Rin's body followed its head. The eyes he had felt boring into his back weren't there. He swallowed. Without giving the blockage a second glance, he walked back into the cave. Then he heard it.

Not the voices from the forest.

Not the demon board.

But a single, beautiful voice.

"Rin!"

"Shura?" he yelled, quickening his pace. A bright light flashed into the cave as he left the tunnel.

"What the hell are ya doing down there!" The orb spotlighted him.

"Ya think I want to be down here?" he shouted back, protecting himself from the light. "What happened to the boar?"

"What boar?"

Rin blinked. "The massive possessed boar that pushed me into this place."

The light left the cave for a few moments. Then returned. "I don't see or feel anythin', kiddo. Did ya hit yer head?"

Rin's tail swished. "Don't mess with me, Shura. I was knocked down here by the boar. There's no way you didn't see it."

"Look, Rin. If ya got yer arse up here, you'd see for yerself that there's no boar. Now come out of the dusty cave."

"This place is more like a buried castle."

"There's a reason places like this are buried, Rin, and bein' a castle ain't one." She explored the cave with her light. "Did ya touch anything?"

"No."

The light fell to her side with a heavy sigh. "Ya damn idiot. Why can ya never keep yer hands to yerself," she moaned. "Come on. We're heading back."

"But shouldn't we **―** "

"No. Headquarters will have my arse if they find I've been diggin' up ol' temples. And that's _me._ Imagine what they'd do to you, Rin. Yer already on thin ice."

Rin nodded absently. "A temple makes sense, considering the altar."

"Yer not listenin'."

Rin yelped as a bullet exploded next to his leg.

"Get yer arse up here!"

He shouted a speedy 'hai' and forced his aching body up the spiraling ledge. A section was missing between him and Shura, leaving a five-foot gap between him and the hole.

Shura held out an arm. "Think ya can jump, hotshot?"

Rin looked at the twenty-foot drop, then back at her. He threw her a weary smile. With a running start, he trusted himself to her. Both exorcists latched on to the other, Shura grunting with effort as momentum swung him up beside her. "Yer a sack of bricks."

"It's all muscle, thank you."

"That explains yer grades." She laughed as he swatted her arm.

The red-head slinked outside, gesturing to follow. "We'll have to report this to Headquarters." Thinking of Paladin Arthur made her cringe. His golden hair and eyes were a clever facade over his heart of steel. She already dreaded the lecture to come.

And that was just the beginning. The Order had jurisdiction over this land for _decades._ Countless recon missions, training courses with highly experienced exorcists, full, detailed mappings of demonic hotspots, research by True Cross scientists **―** yet not _one_ person found this. Until the son of Satan happened to fall right on top of it.

Shura's mood darkened. Was it just coincidence? Another archaeological ruin they could leave to regular society? "Let's hurry back, Rin, before **―** Rin?"

The boy hadn't moved. He was looking at the mountain with wide eyes, face a little more than pale.

"Rin," Shura called again, perusing the area just in case. "There's nothin' here."

And that's exactly what bothered him. No blizzard. No tracks. No shards of stone. Not even the cave entrance showed signs of abuse. What happened to the storm? Where was the boar, the trampled snow? Where were the scorch marks from his fire?

"Rin?"

He shook his head. "There's no sign the demon was even here. There really was one. And the storm..." He gave his mentor a wide-eyed look.

She knew that look. "Rin. You may be a lot of things, but a liar is not one of them."

He gave her an appreciative smile.

"You don't have the brains for it."

His face soured. Shura smirked, then continued on a serious note, "What you encountered was probably a **lygus***. They're lower level demons that possess animals and act as the animals would. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a lygus and a normal animal. Unless ya dump Holy Water on 'em. Then it's reaaaaally obvious."

Rin hummed in acknowledgment, weariness seeping into his spirit. He followed Shura down the mountain, half-listening to her rambles, but not without a final glance at the cave. Within the shadows, he could have sworn a pair of eyes watched.

* * *

 **lygus*** **―** I made this term up. Sounds official though, does it not?


	7. Chapter 7

.

"While it may seem small, the ripple effects of small things is extraordinary."

 _ **―**_ ** _Matt Bevin_**

._..._.

._.

"I'm not sure what to be more concerned over," said Arthur D Angel, hands folded beneath his chin. "That you disregarded protocol and led an exwire into territory approved for lower first class exorcists _without_ my approval."

"Or," he continued, leaning forward, "how the son of Satan was allowed to play adventurer and unearth what could have been the bowels of Gehenna."

Shura's face remained neutral.

He set his hands down, determined to crack that arrogantly cool facade of hers. "I don't see for the life of me why Shiro left that half-breed to you. Only a selfish mentor throws their responsibilities onto their student. However, I never expected you of all people to be obedient to that man's _―_ "

"I took _Rin_ as my student because he earned the right to be," Shura interjected. She maintained an impressive air of indifference despite her words. "I didn't like the idea of raising Satan's son any more than you do now. _Everyone's got a little bit o' demon in them; it's all a matter of who trains them the best_. That's what Shiro told me the day he asked me to look after Rin, and that's what I told Rin the day I found him worthy to be my pupil."

Arthur chuckled. "After all these years, the first apprentice Shura Kirigakure accepts has more fire than herself."

"Enough to finally singe off those annoying eyebrows of yours."

"Less than six months to accomplish that."

And finally, he achieved his goal. Her facade cracked with a heated glare, but it couldn't hide how she really felt: worried.

Good.

Arthur straightened. "Shura. You violated the Order's trust by allowing that exwire _―_ " the word sounded like dirt on his tongue " _―_ into a level 3 quarantine zone. Before we consider the fact you were instructed _not_ to let the boy out of your sight, let's discuss how, _exactly_ , he stumbled into a buried ruin."

"Everything's in the report."

"I'd much rather hear it from you, without your sloppy caligraphy getting in the way."

"You'll have to deal with my smart mouth then."

"If you know what's good for you, then no, I don't think I'll have to."

Shura didn't know when her fists had tightened, but it took an immense amount of concentration to regain her calm and loosen them. Seeing no way to refuse, she began to relay the evening.

._..._.

._.

 _The preserved trail wound up the mountain._

 _"He never learns," Shura quipped, bouncing the rifle on her shoulders. She took one last amused look at the trail before plowing after the exwire._

 _Shortly after, his panicked voice came through the walkie-talkie._ _After a bizarre round of questions, Shura frowned._

 _"You sure yer alright? Ya sound spooked kiddo."_

 _"It was nothin'. I think I finally know what you mean by feeling the world."_

 _"Well, ya still haven't picked me out."_

 _Static rendered his response incoherent._

 _"Rin, what did you say?"_

 _The line was quiet. She tried again. Quiet still._

 _"Shit."_

 _It was just interference_ _―they_ _were on a mountain, for Assiah's sake_ _―_ _but what about Rin's behavior? He was a shitty liar. Something had gotten under his skin, and while usually, the teen was passionate and outgoing when confronted, he seemed oddly subdued and stressed. Perhaps he met trouble along the way? The park had demons, yes, but nothing dangerous. That didn't guarantee one wouldn't show up, and Rin_ never _balked at the opportunity of a fight._

 _Not liking where her thoughts drifted, Shura pushed into a full sprint. This wasn't a time for normal tracking, she decided. She pulled a small charm from her jacket. Who'd have thought it would be used on her own pupil?_

 _"What I desire, what I seek; with blood giv'n prior, lend your mystique!"_

 _The charm smoked, grew hot. A winged serpent no bigger than her arm sizzled to life. Liquid black scales contrasted sharply against dusty white wings as violet, intelligent eyes narrowed questioningly at their contractor._

 _"The one I seek is on this mountain. Find him." Shura filled herself with thoughts of Rin and pulled back a sleeve._

 _The snake looked at her disdainfully._

 _"I don't have any o' his," she snapped._

 _It flicked its tongue. Perhaps offended. Too bad._

 _Sharp fangs sank into her exposed golden flesh. It was a bright cold pain compared to the heat in her muscles. Adrenaline wouldn't let her register the familiar take three mouthfuls of blood_ _―_ _equivalent to the difficulty of the task_ _―_ _and release her. It lifted its head, maw now tinted rich red. Turning in the direction Shura ran, its wings unfurled and launched forward._

 _Shura clamped down on her arm and hauled ass after it. The black serpent was easy to follow, but the shadows of night were quickly stealing that advantage. Only a few minutes passed before the serpent double-backed. To her surprise, it curled around her contract arm. She lifted it questioningly, watching as the snake rested its head in her palm and fizzled out into burnt paper._

 _Seconds passed. The paper fluttered._

 _If the serpent left without finishing its mission, that meant one thing. Her fists crushed the remains. She growled and charged through the forest. There was no way._

 _The forest spat her onto the mountainside. Chest heaving, she scanned the snowscape for the dark-haired teen. Or worse, signs of a struggle._

 _There was neither._

 _"Rin!"_

 _No response._ _Shura ground her teeth and charged on._

 _Think! What was Rin doing? He complained of odd sounds but didn't explain. Said he knew what she meant by feeling the world._

 _Shura stopped. She calmed herself and closed her eyes. The landscape reappeared not as defined shapes, but conglomerates of energy behind her eyelids. She sifted through them like a weaver before a full loom of strings, searching for Rin's unique signature. The strain made itself known quickly: her head pounded, her hands grew clammy, and acid swirled in her stomach. When she withdrew, gasping and sweating, her pupil was still missing. But the search was not in vain._

 _Her eyes were raw from being shut for so long, but she fixed them on a rock formation with strange energy. The two slabs met in a tent-like structure. She approached and found a freshly made hole inside._

 _"Rin!"_

 _._..._._

 _._._

"And that's how you found him? Alone at the bottom of the cavern?"

Shura flexed her bandaged arm, drawing his eyes to it. "He fell through the ice while fending off a demon. Most likely a high-level lygus(1)."

"There was no demon in your official report."

"No visible signs by the time I got there."

She knew what was coming next.

"So he could be lying."

"No." Rin's pale face, tensed shoulders, the helpless disbelief plainly written in his eyes."He's not lying."

Arthur eyed her suspiciously. "That's a lot of trust to place in an akuma."

"He's a person, Arthur," she said, finally through with hiding her pent-up anger. "Stop forcin' your bullshit prejudice on my pupil and get over it. I'm done with this report."

Arthur quieted but a storm brewed behind his golden eyes. He was the paladin; no one _dismissed_ him like that, not even the Grigori. How strange it was to stand across him like this, she thought. Stiff and silent, awaiting the thunder. This man, who was once an easily frightened, teary-eyed pretty boy using every chance to fight her; who hated mushrooms, squawked like a parrot when caught unawares, watched the exorcists with glowing eyes, insisted on becoming the "loyalest knight."

People mistook him for the easygoing, laughing _Angel_ he played himself off to be. No one knew the calculating, cold statue underneath, one that bore no resemblance to the naive boy he once was.

As if reading her frame of mind, Arthur closed his eyes. When they reopened, the maelstrom had lessened. In a gruff voice, he asked, "Years ago, when we were kids _―_ do you remember Endovier's Gauntlets?"

Shura blinked, then narrowed her eyes. He _never_ brought up their shared past. "Ya gonna lecture me like the Sister?"

"Please. It goes through one ear and out the other."

"I listen to the important stuff."

"You barely follow orders."

"I listen to the important stuff."

The ghost of a smile passed over his flat lips. An odd expression for a statue. "You haven't changed. Back then, you ignored me and stole the Order's heirloom."

"Borrowed," she corrected. "I liked the color _―_ red 'n shiny. Not as fashionable in practice."

"Too bad for Dave. You realized that after smashing his nose in."

"He should'a seen it coming." She had no pity for the tall, sneering asshole. "His blood made em sparkle more."

Arthur laced his hands together, unperturbed by the violent detail. "Seems the Sister didn't lecture you enough."

"Don't get yer briefs in a bunch. What's life without some mischief here n' there?"

"Long, noble, less painful."

She let out a dramatic gasp. "No wonder yer so grim and grey."

His scowl was priceless.

She snickered and crossed her arms, relaxing a fraction.

"Well, the grim and grey know plenty of ideas for punishments."

Ah, right. All business. She stiffened back into formality.

Almost.

"Alright, Bossy-brow, whaddya have for me?"

It was his turn to smile wickedly.

._..._.

._.

It was warm today. A rare occurrence for the frozen mountain. Quiet blanketed the mountain as heavy as the snow on the ground. Even the wind refused a single whisper.

The owl shook its feathers, a soft _shhh_ in the calm air. With a silence matching that of the forest, it left its perch and glided through the trees.

Keen, golden eyes scanned the environment. Prey was scarce. The owl barely caught enough for itself. Without enough food to care for a mate, it remained unpaired, nesting alone on the higher peaks.

It was an odd behavior, to say the least. A smart bird flew south for the temperate woodlands ripe with lemmings. Hence, the mountain was as scarce of birds as it was rodents.

Yet this one remained.

The owl turned mid-flight and landed unseen in a tall aspen. Something startled it.

On the sparse forest floor, the quiet morning of the Brooks Mountain Range was interrupted by a group of men crunching through the snow. Their breaths clouded the air, voices traveling far over the flat land. A few pulled large sleds.

The owl bobbled its head, focusing on the figures. Voices drifted up into the tree.

" _―_ uits. Though they stuck close to the seas. Perhaps this is a brand new culture!"

"Don't get too excited, Takumi."

"What do you mean?"

"We've had this land over a hundred years. Then that bastard's son waltzes in and stumbles on a new ruin?" A grunt. "Reeks of trouble."

"What're ye doing here if ye don' like it?"

"You misjudge me _―_ I'd cross the depths of Gehenna if that's where my trade took me. However it happened, this 'lost temple' has surfaced from the depths of time. Would you pass an opportunity like this?"

There was a brief silence.

"Didn't think so. I'm only saying this as a warning. What we find may not be an innocent group of people making their livelihoods in the mountains."

Uncertainty combined with their heavy gear weighed down any further conversation.

The owl watched the group as they traveled. The higher up the mountain they went, the more agitated it became. Its beak twittered. It followed the humans until the barren mountainside appeared within sight.

"Ou! Check the coordinates! Me-thinks this is the area."

A man flipped through some papers. "Nn! It matches the description." The proximity invigorated.

From high above, the owl's irises narrowed.

Clouds began gathering in the distance.


	8. Chapter 8

.

 **Reality** is that which when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away. **Reality** is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

― _ **Albert Einstein**_

._..._.

._.

The dark clouds finally reached them.

Takumi lowered his eyes from the ominous skies, mood falling. This morning seemed like a distant memory. He had been elated to receive his first assignment as a licensed archeologist in the Order, even more so when he learned it would be beside Nori Hataka, the world's greatest archaeologist.

The legend walked a few paces ahead, his grey-flecked hair hidden beneath a thick ushanka hat. His hard features implied he was a rather stoic person, one rarely showing off his thoughts or emotions. After introducing himself and receiving a disinterested grunt in return, he fully believed this to be the case. In fact, Takumi wondered if the man even _noticed_ the weather around them.

Which brought him back to their predicament.

He sighed, feeling a need to say something. The winds were howling, the trees groaning as their trunks shifted. Snow began falling in delicate sheets, quickly thickening until it shrouded the world like a bride's veil.

"Isn't the weather taking a turn?" he asked nonchalantly.

Hataka angled his head, exposing the stubble along his chin. "Weather changes quickly on a mountain. Thus, we should talk less and walk faster."

Takumi breathed a half-hearted chuckle. No one had spoken for the last half-hour. "Even so, doesn't it seem like a bad storm is heading our way?"

A heavy hand clapped his lower back.

"Don't worry lad!" Aengus, the embodiment of _big and tall_ , possessed a booming voice with the power to "out-shout" everything else in the world. If he hadn't chosen archaeology, he would have made a hell of an Aria.

"Snow ain't going to hurt no one much! We won't be in it for long anyway." He pointed ahead.

On the barren mountainside, two great slabs leaned against one another as the Paladin had described. Hataka turned and everyone fell in line around him. Though they technically hadn't voted on a leader, no one questioned or felt weird about him assuming the role. "Alright, ladies and gents; I don't care how frozen your toes are. Once we get to―"

A low rumble cut off his words.

The only two exorcists of their group jumped into a guard position; Angie brought up the rear with a recitation book ready for fatal verses while Kei had the front covered with summoning charms and a poised dagger.

The group tensed, glancing around them. Hataka, naturally, showed no sign of alarm.

The rumbling turned into a high-pitched groan before fading altogether. Thick snowfall muted the landscape, revealing nothing to them.

"Kei, Angie. What was that?"

Angie's response was purely professional. "No demonic presence in the area."

Kei reaffirmed the statement with a nod.

"Then what was that noise?" Takumi asked.

"A tree falling, the mountain shifting, a far-off avalanche."

Was she reading off a page of natural disasters?

Kei nodded again.

"Is it anything in the nearby area?"

"No."

They sure as hell didn't look as confident as they sounded—well, as Angie sounded. The two's legs remained bent, their shoulders back, the tension never leaving their faces.

"Then we press on."

Takumi turned to Hataka in surprise. The man's grey eyes to flick towards him, challenging him to disagree. Conscious of the others, Takumi chose to keep his thoughts to himself. It wouldn't do to challenge the authority of someone much more experienced than him.

Still...

The weather changed as feared. The world was a sheet of white and the group had to tie a rope around one another before continuing through the blizzard.

"Keep your wits about you and your hands on the rope!" Hataka shouted. The rope pulled as the team lead pressed on.

It was a bitter march. The snow was heavy, the wind cold. Takumi's tears and snot froze the instant they met air, icicles weighing down his eyelashes. He held off his chattering teeth long enough to growl, "I thought it was close!"

Aengus shouted something in response, but it was lost to the wind. Imagine that! Something powerful enough to drown out the Irishman. Nature was a force to be reckoned with.

Takumi would have smiled were it not for the next noise that reached his ears.

A low rumbling, much louder than before, stopped the archaeologists in their tracks.

Takumi's grip tightened on the one thing keeping them together. Nervous eyes scanned the blurred surroundings. The rumbling stopped, but it was hard to tell if that was good or bad. "I don't think―"

Angie screamed.

The rope went taught, nearly tearing right through him as it pulled Takumi to the ground. The force squeezed the air from his lungs and constricted his abdomen until he spasmed in pain. The others shared a similar fate as they toppled beside him. The rope dragged them through the snow for a few feet before the tension vanished.

The instant the force vanished, Takumi struggled to release the rope. Succeeding, he took greedy breaths of air to chase away the dangerous burn inside his lungs.

"Angie! Angie! What happened?" Kei's voice sounded unbelievably young, expounded by his frantic shouting.

Takumi couldn't see the blonde behind them through the storm. Instead, he turned to Aengus, noticing the man's face was packed with snow. "Is she still there?"

Aengus wiped his face and relayed the question to the researcher behind him. What a terrible reason to play telephone. Takumi's stomach dropped when Aengus relayed the answer with a shake of his head.

"Where the hell is she?" Kei screeched, somehow seeing the exchange or simply reaching the same conclusion.

Another rumble answered him, shaking the ground where the group stood.

"What is that shaking?"

"I don't know!"

"We need to get to cover!"

"We need to find Angie!"

" _Everyone quiet_!"

Hataka's voice struck through the cacophony like a hammer on the anvil. He immediately had everyone's attention. _"Focus._ Kei, you are a first-class exorcist. With or without your partner, I expect you to act like one. There are other people besides Angie in your care. Aengus, Daitchi, Takumi―watch our backs and keep an eye out for Angie. Kei, Rico, Patti―with me at the front."

"Alright, we'll keep an eye out behind us," Takumi repeated, using the order to drive away his nerves. He noticed now that he was shaking. Was he cold? Going into shock? Angie was gone. She was there moments ago, but now she was gone.

The snow fell in thick heaps. Aengus's outline was a blurry haze. Only a thin bundle of fibers kept him from being alone in the foreign landscape. How would they find their way? How they would find Angie―

His mind blanked.

"Aengus."

The burly man didn't hear him.

"Aengus."

He grunted but didn't turn around.

" _Aengus._ "

The Irishman finally looked at his partner. "Ay, Takumi..." Aengus trailed off as he followed Takumi's raised finger. "By the gods―"

"Tell me you see it too. Better yet, tell me you don't."

Matted black fur contrasted sharply against white. Dark, clotting blood seeped from wounds on a decaying hide. Thick miasma poured from a parted maw, startlingly large yellow teeth jutting out like bony islands amidst the sea of black ooze.

The beast growled, producing the rumbling they had been hearing from the start. Gnarled hooves pawed the ground. Takumi's heart launched into his throat. " _AKUMA!_ "

The demon matched his cry and charged.

The funny thing about a rope is that it can both save and condemn, be a lifeline and a noose. A lifeline when you don't want to be separated from your group. A noose when you want to avoid a two-thousand pound mass of muscle and tusk barreling straight towards you.

Needless to say, Takumi felt like a hanged man. Or rather, that would have been preferred to being run down by a living bulldozer.

Surprisingly, it was almost painless. One second he was staring into death's ugly face. The next he was surrounded by white. Not the "warm white light" he expected. Rather, it was cold. Heaven wouldn't be this cold.

His heart fell. Was Hell cold instead of hot?

And then Aengus blew out his eardrums. "What a porker! Wonder if I dug up a few o' its cousins."

Definitely Hell.

Takumi groaned as his ears rang, opening his eyes to find a sight more terrifying than the boar: the Irishman's face resting close enough for the hairs on his chin to tickle his lips. Warm air fanned over Takumi's cheeks. "Takumi! Are you okay? Did the beastie snag you?"

"I don't care how Irish you are, I am not kissing you."

Aengus gave him a puzzled look before realizing their positions. Takumi not only heard but _felt_ the man's hearty laugh. "If ye can crack jokes, ye must be alright. I'll take a beer for saving yer arse, thank you." He rolled off and pulled the smaller man to his knees.

"Thanks," Takumi wheezed. The sudden motion made his head spin, a dull ache growing from where it had hit the ground. He glanced at the frayed rope next to him.

"Had to cut ye loose. I may have as much brawn as brain, but even I can't Hulk four people out of the way," Aengus explained, large hunting knife in hand.

Takumi glanced around. Everything was an indiscriminate white, surrounding him and Aengus. "Where's the boar? Where are the others?"

Aengus spun around. "Impossible... They were here when I pulled ye out o' the way."

"Kei!" Takumi shouted. "Patti! Hata―"

A hand clapped over his mouth. "Are ye mad as a box of frogs? A demon's rampaging about and ye start shouting? I appreciate yer concern for the others, but this is no time to be playin' Marco-Polo."

Unbelievable! He shoved off Aengus' hand and felt around his waist.

"What are ye―by the gods."

Takumi had followed the line of rope until reaching its unfortunate end―without Daitchi attached.

"It's been cut."

"You didn't do that?"

"I barely had 'nuff time to pull _ye_ out o' the way, lad." Aengus took the rope from him. "This cut is clean."

"Maybe Daitchi did it."

Aengus shook his head. "The only sharp tool that rawny man's ever used is a shovel. Something else cut this and I doubt the boar were that careful." Aengus looked around once more, frown deepening. "Where's the sled Daitchi was pulling?"

The barren mountain offered no answer. Takumi's skin crawled. Alone on the mountain, separated from the others, in the middle of a snowstorm, with a demon running rampant, their gear gone. "What should we do? We can't stay here―that akuma could be back any second, but what about the others? Oh God, Aengus, what if they're... what if they―"

A hand patted his back with enough force to literally beat the thoughts from his head. "Takumi, we'll find them. For now, I say we head back to the cabin and wait out the storm. We aren't going to find anyone in this mess."

Takumi nodded slowly, trying to settle the rampant beating inside his chest. "I'll try radioing the others."

"Alright, but keep yer voice down. We aren't the only ones on the mountain."

As if he needed reminding! His hands shook as he handled the radio and after multiple tries on all five stations with no response, he began to wonder if they _were_ the only ones on the mountain.

"Odd."

Takumi's stomach filled with dread. "What now?"

"The compass." The Irishman held it out to him. "It won't stop spinning."

A high-pitched creak shook the air and Takumi's question decayed into a sharp breath. The Irishman adjusted his grip on the large hunting knife. Its jagged edges were daunting but held nothing against the shadow emerging from the snow.

The cold seemed to intensify ten-fold when the demon stopped a few meters away, watching them with beady black eyes.

"Takumi. On the count o' three, run."

There was a lump in his throat. "What?"

"Do as I say," Aengus hissed. The beast pawed the ground. "When I say three, ye run as fast as ye can to the cabin. Ye'll do no good here."

The harsh comment didn't register as a million reasons pored through his head on why he _shouldn't_ leave the Irishman's side. Like how the burly man was his only defense in the wilderness.

"One."

Or the fact that he had no idea which direction the cabin was in.

"Two."

Or the moral issue of leaving behind a comrade who had already saved his life once and was about to do it again.

"Three!"

It didn't register that the signal was given until the burly man shoved him face first into the snow. The ground shook and a pained grunt reached his ears. Quickly, he brushed off the snow and turned.

A new color dyed the scenery. A chill crept into his bones.

"Aengus!" Takumi jumped to his feet, charging through the snow. "Aengus! Damnit Aengus, say _something_!"

The man groaned. His coat was in shreds around the shoulder, exposing raw, bloody skin beneath. "I can hear yer yappin', ye muppet. Why didn't ye run?"

"I couldn't," he replied frantically. The amount of blood painting the snow wasn't indicative of a mortal injury, but Takumi still touched Aengus's shoulder as though it could fall off any second. He helped the man up, examining the three bleeding red lines. The wound seemed minor despite the hulking size of the demon―Aengus was lucky it didn't take a whole arm―but that seemed wrong...

A snort interrupted his train of thought. The ground rattled and without pause, Takumi shoved Aengus to the side with all his might. Or tried to.

 _Pain._

It was incredible how much damage the boar could do with a passing tusk. Three layers of shirts, a vest, a thick winter jacket, and the sharp ebony tusk still sliced through it all and his back like butter. Takumi's legs buckled and he collapsed into the snow with a strangled gasp.

"Takumi, ye lousy stook!"

Strong hands gripped his arms. His back screamed as Aengus hauled him to his feet. He gave a cut-off gurgle.

"I know, but we gotta move. Second round at Chelli's on me."

Aengus practically dragged him through the snow while Takumi struggled to keep aware. The headache from earlier had become a defined pounding and the worrisome burn in his back made it a hell of a challenge just staying upright. Every step resounded in his body, every beat a reminder of the torn flesh of his back.

The scenery became a mix of blurs. The wind and labored breath of his comrade quieted to an annoying buzz. His body was turning numb, not unlike the time he had been out partying and had a few too many. Only this time he wasn't falling into fits of giggling with Mocchi or hitting on girls he'd never have the courage to look at sober. There was no warm sense of security or peace of mind that came with being surrounded by friends and knowing that you'd wake up soon. Sure, there'd be one hell of a hangover, but you would still wake up.

No, this time there was just the cold. And the pain. And the world slipping away.

And then the dark.

._.

._..._.

"..."

"...umi."

"Takumi!"

The sheer act of opening his eyes felt deserving an Olympic gold medal. Instead, he was greeted by beams of gray light highlighting floating specks of dust. A musty scent permeated the cool air as though it had marinated in stillness for decades. A hard surface beneath him pressed against a dull ache in his lower-back. He tried sitting and regretted it instantly.

"Ah, don't get up," Aengus said, pushing him back down.

The pain didn't let him react to the Irishman's sudden appearance.

"Ye took a nasty tumble. Did a number on yerself."

Takumi breathed until the pain settled into a manageable ache. "What... are you talking about?"

"Ye don't remember?"

"I... no... I don't know."

He remembered this morning clearly―skipping breakfast and still arriving late to the curator's office, packing gear and equipment for the assignment ahead, meeting his fellow archaeologists and marveling at the size and volume of Aengus―but as time moved forward, the images grew hazier, like walking into a dense fog.

The floor groaned. Somewhere to his left, Aengus dragged back a chair and sat down. "Don't stress o'er it too much. Ye hit yer noodle pretty hard. I wouldn't be s'prised if ye lost a few screws."

When Takumi didn't respond, the Irishman continued, "We found the entrance to the ruin just as the Paladin said. Ye took a wrong step and tumbled on the ice. Landed a good twenty feet down. It's a miracle ye came out with only a scratch."

It certainly felt more than just _a scratch._ Takumi winced. "I don't remember any of this."

"Probably for the best. You were howlin' and screamin' like a wee lass. Something 'bout a boar?"

"I definitely would not!"

"Oh? How would ye know if ye can't remember?"

He shot the Irishman a glare, ignoring the pull at his injury. Then he noticed the torn fabric of Aengus's shirt. "What happened to your shoulder?"

Aengus followed his gaze. "Ah, this?" He pulled at the material, revealing three angry gashes. "Happened while I was carryin' ye back. Slipped on ice and got scratched by some rocks. My luck's almost as bad as yers!" He laughed and relaxed into the chair.

Takumi sighed and stared at the ceiling. It didn't feel right. Slipping down into the cave? Wouldn't he remember at least a little? He focused hard, carefully pushing through the fog. Voices came from within.

 _Barely had 'nuff time to pull ye out of the way, lad._

Crunching snow approached from outside. Aengus's chair screeched as he rose. "Back already?"

 _Watch out!_

 _Takumi, ye lousy stook!_

 _A sense of vertigo. Something cold and hard. His back burning._

Takumi felt sick. Maybe he _did_ hit his head too hard.

A cold draft entered the room. Pairs of feet stomped inside followed by heavy breathing.

"Well?" asked Aengus. "What did ye find?"

There was a silence filled with the shuffling of coats and sniffling noses. Takumi risked the pain of lifting his head.

"Absolutely nothing," Daitchi grumbled, looking like a mad scientist straight from a science-fiction novel with his fogged glasses and spiking hair. "An old cave. Nothing more."

" _What?_ That can't be. That can't be right..."

"Would you like to go double check, Aengus?"

By his tone of voice, Hataka was _not_ in a good mood. He was drenched and favoring his right side with a slight grimace. "It was a cave formed by a glacier. Nothing demonic or anthropological. A waste of time and effort." He tore off his coat angrily and threw it on the table.

The remaining members shrugged out of their own damp clothes with palpable disappointment.

"What are we to tell the Paladin?"

"Exactly what we found," Hataka groundout. He _definitely_ looked in need of a drink.

Aengus raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, I can tell yer knackered. Sounds to me like we all need to go out on the lash."

"Aengus," said Angie, pulling blonde hair out of her face. She too seemed to be favoring one side over the other. "Speak the language."

Aengus grinned. "Chelli's."

Takumi let his head fall back with a groan.

His headache wasn't going to get any better.

* * *

A/N: Always looking for constructive criticism. Sorry for the late update, Lieben.

Found some interesting mythology to weave into this. Hope you like Germanic lore.

Wieder, since I have school and work, these updates will be slow coming. I apologize ahead of time, but I will finish this never-the-less.

~IgnisVulpes


	9. Chapter 9

.

"Never tear down a wall without first knowing why it was built."

 **— Anonymous**

._..._.

._.

"Okumura Rin, to the headmaster's office."

The announcement was followed by a loud bang in the corner.

The history sensei sighed, knowing what the noise meant. "Okumura-kun."

Dazed, Rin struggled to lift his head from the desk. "Huh?"

The class snickered.

"If you cared enough to stay awake during my lecture, you'd know what's going on around you," the sensei chastised, crossing his arms. "You're wanted in the headmaster's office."

Rin yawned. "The headmaster's office?"

"Yes. The headmaster's office. Now."

Mephisto. What did that clown want? Didn't he know it was only—Rin peered blearily at the time—one o'clock?

He got up, ignoring the unfriendly whispers around him. Pretty easy to do when you didn't care about anyone there. Hard to be friends with people who constantly muttered ' _what an idiot_ ' or ' _trouble-maker_ ' or ' _hey, isn't he kind of scary?_ '

So he hadn't bothered getting to know anyone and they hadn't bothered getting to know him. A reasonable trade, except it didn't work for a few people.

Bon was in the same class. He didn't spare a single glance Rin's way.

By now, the tightness in Rin's chest was commonplace, but that didn't make it any easier. How much longer would this avoidance last? None of his friends had spoken a word to him since the incident in the classroom. Even Shiemi! She wouldn't even look at him. It didn't make any sense. Why did she make him tea if she didn't like him? As a friend, of course! But he couldn't even thank her at this rate.

He sighed in frustration and walked out the class.

Rich creams and gold-colored walls were the only part of True Cross Academy not affected by Mephisto's quirky tastes. Otherwise, out-of-place decorations filled every available space: gothic chandeliers and sconces, banners and flags, bizarre wall ornaments, and different-sized statues of creatures and figures straight out of legends and myth. Students thought it added charm.

Charm. Rin rolled his eyes. Since when were the signs of hoarding charming?

Occasionally there were portraits of important-looking people crammed between the decorations, but the paintings were more interesting. Most had no theme or image. One was just a messy splatter of reds and golds; another a bizarre combination of browns and greens.

Others were normal if one could call a painting that. Like this one.

Rin faced the painting. The style and artist were beyond him, but the colors and brush strokes spoke of a master. They depicted two figures sitting beneath flowering trees—apple blossoms or sakura—with specks of sunlight filtering through.

The colors were muted, the strokes gentle and unconcerned with accuracy. The artist focused more on expressing the softness of the scene. The scent of flowers, the warmth of sunlight, the sound of evening bugs—he could imagine it all.

Rin's thoughts wandered. He placed himself there beneath the trees with a small blonde beside him, her eyes a rich verdant green. Her kimono pattern reflected the blossoms around them, her smile brighter than the sun.

A man could lose himself in that smile.

And so he did, barely noticing as he passed a room flanked by two full suits of armor. He returned to himself just in time to see a notorious pair of eyebrows.

Recognition made Rin retrace his steps to the glass. Izumo faced forward, head in her hand, visibly consumed by boredom. She twirled a pencil, flicking it into the air before snatching it to scratch some notes, only to repeat the process.

As the pencil flew for the fifth time, Rin saw a head of gold.

The goddess herself leaned over her desk, eyes fixated on the board. Her shoulders were hunched, brow scrunched, head bobbing back and forth between her notes and the teacher so fast she seemed to be listening to some hardcore rock. The sight drew a smile on Rin's face.

"Stalking your classmates unabashedly, I see."

Rin spluttered, biting his tongue. "Mephisto?"

The clown peered through the glass next to him, brow rising. "O~ku~mu~ra~kun."

If it hadn't before, his face was definitely red now. "What? I was checking on up them." Maybe Mephisto wouldn't notice. Considering how he usually dressed, it was very possible he was colorblind.

Mephisto gave a lazy smile.

Not colorblind enough.

"What are you doing here?"

The headmaster crossed his arms, difficult to read as always. "You took too long. I figured your teacher was giving you a hard time or you got lost." His smile widened a fraction. "Now I see it was just the other sex."

"I was checking up on everyone since they're avoiding me," Rin repeated in one insistent breath.

"And I'm but a man checking up on my student. Ah, I wish I could live through such light-hearted years again."

Rin scoffed. Mephisto as an acne-faced teen? "I can't picture it."

"Neither can I." There seemed to be a spark of something akin to humor in his eyes. He pulled out a silver pocket watch. "How time flies! We really must be going, Okumura-kun."

"Going? Going where?"

But Mephisto had already begun pushing him down the hall. He pulled an old gold key out of his pocket and shoved it into the lock of a supply closet.

"Woah, wait a second! Where are we going?"

"The Paladin requested an audience with you. Since you're on thin ice with the Order at the moment, I thought I'd tag along!"

The transition from empty school hallway to bustling exorcist headquarters was near disorienting. They entered to find men and women dressed in black stood out against white-washed walls. Some had familiars, some had weapons, some had both, and all of them looked ready to use them. With the looks he was getting, it didn't take a genius to figure out who the target would be.

"Pay them no mind, Okumura-kun."

"Hard to do when their eyes tell me exactly how they'd skewer me."

Mephisto chuckled, and Rin realized just as many if not more looks were aimed at his companion. "You'll get used to it. Then they become badges of honor."

"I prefer my medals round and shiny."

"I'm serious. It's a nod to your, shall we say, _skills_. Think about it. If you change sides, you'll be a large threat to the Order. They're keeping an eye on you because of that. You're a double-edged sword."

"I know that." He was seen as a future threat and people were preparing for it. _Already_ prepared for it. Yet people seemed to neglect one important detail. "I'm human too," he mumbled to himself.

They turned down a less-crowded hallway with a single black door at its end. Mephisto approached and rapped on its gold lion-head knocker. No one answered. Instead, the lion blinked, sniffed the air with inflated nostrils, glared as soon as it noticed the both of them, and demanded in a tinny voice, "Name and business."

"Mephisto Pheles and Exwire Okumura Rin. Answering summons from Paladin Angel."

The lion didn't seem impressed. Its stare felt violating, examining all the worst parts of you.

"Wait here," it ordered. Rin breathed again as it morphed back into lifeless metal.

Mephisto stood patiently until the heat of Rin's stare finally got to him. "There's a seal on the door," he explained at last. "It informs the Paladin whenever someone approaches. Every time a Paladin takes office, the seal is redrawn in their blood so it is unique only to them. It's a minor defense against possessed exorcists or unknown personnel."

"Oh, no kidding! Isn't that just… well okay, that's actually pretty cool, but is it always so _intense_?"

"Ah. That."

Mephisto examined the knocker. "Though it's made from forged metal and operates on the contractor's life energy, it tends to adopt a unique shape and personality independent of each user. Before Arthur became Paladin, it was in the shape of a panther and had quite a taste for dry humor."

"Oh."

That would have been Shiro.

"It's too hard to play pranks with this one."

"I haven't forgotten your last attempt," the lion returned with a slightly different tone. The door swung open. The Paladin sat behind his black desk, golden hair pulled back and greeting them with his best frown. Rin stiffened when he saw Calibur propped against the desk.

Arthur ignored his trepidation and gestured for them to enter. "You're the reason nothing can be wrapped anymore."

Mephisto approached with badly acted surprise. "Such extremes for a birthday gift?"

"A gift," Arthur repeated, lacing his fingers together. "Seven months early?"

"Five months late. Unique gifts must be given at unique times."

"Do you think I don't know German?"

"Do you assume any present from a German is poisonous(1)?"

"Any German? No. This particular German(2)?" It wasn't a question so much as an affirmation. Rin glanced between the two men as they locked in some sort of bizarre staring ritual.

The contest ended in a tie when a newcomer tumbled into the room. Shura leaned heavily onto the door frame, sides heaving. "I'm here."

The three men stared. Hard not to. Though her outfits were normally on the scandalous side, today she wore a number worthy of arrest.

Tiny black ripped shorts and a fishnet crop top barely held back her endowed features, leaving plenty of voluptuous, golden skin for the eyes to explore. Her muscles, well-defined, followed her curves and cast gentle shadows where they dipped and stretched. With her disheveled hair, rose-tinted cheeks, and smoky eyes, she was ever the fierce warrior she always was, except this armor was for a very different kind of battlefield.

A sharp smell returned Rin to his senses. Oh, Kami, was he just ogling Shura?

Mephisto raised an eyebrow. "Five o'clock already, Kirigakure-san?"

"Shut it, ya o'ergrown poodle." She hiccuped, the movement distracting the men again.

If Arthur's frown deepened anymore, his face would cave in on itself. "How professional," he ground out.

"Professionality was ne'er part o' it." She leaned in closer, drawing their eyes lower. Tilting her head at Arthur, she said, "Yer face will stick like that if ya keep it up. Oh! Sorry, I forget that's just yer face."

"A side effect of your ever unfortunate work ethic." Arthur, noticing Mephisto's eyes were glued to Shura, demanded, "Why are you still here?"

Mephisto took his time to answer, letting his eyes sweep the red-head. Then he turned to Arthur. "I already know about Okumura-kun's adventure." At the narrowed look Arthur gave him, he added, "As a caring headmaster, I keep track of any dangerous activities involving my students."

"Ya don't even know the names o' half yer 'students,'" Shura scoffed. "Yer just a wolf caring for sheep."

Mephisto's eyes slid to hers with a hungry gleam.

"How heartwarming." The unfamiliar voice drew Rin to the other side of the room.

Oof. An audience had been there the entire time.

Five individuals occupied a small sitting space around a coffee table. Four of them nursed steaming mugs, but the fifth, a man with greying hair and a stern face, leaned against the couch with arms folded.

"My apologies, Hataka."

Hataka grunted. "I was there first-hand, Arthur. There's nothing to solve, believe me."

"It's protocol to address all parties in a case with conflicting reports."

Conflicting reports? Were they talking about… "Is this about the temple I found?"

Shura gave Rin an incredulous look of 'took ya that long to figure it out?' She crossed the room, almost sitting on top of Hataka. "What do ya mean there was nothing?"

He leaned away, not falling for her looks. "I mean what I said. There was nothing; a waste of time."

Rin's tail twitched beneath his clothing. "That's impossible. There was a temple. I was attacked by a boar and—"

Out of nowhere one of the guests, a man with a large build laughed loud enough to make the entire room jump. "No kiddin'! Takumi here was sleep-talkin' about a boar."

The small man next to him coughed and clarified, "He was carrying me back to the cabin." All eyes were on him. "I… sorry. I don't remember much. I fell through the ice and hit my head pretty hard. Aengus carried me back and, I guess I talked about a boar in my sleep..."

"Yes. Sleep-talking. Something completely imagined." Hataka looked pointedly at Rin. The condescending bast—

"Yer forgetting I saw it too."

Hataka turned his glare to Shura. "And it wouldn't surprise me if it were the ravings of a dru—"

"Hataka," Arthur interrupted. "Kirigakure-san undoubtedly has her quirks, but do not belittle those with the title of first-class exorcist in front of me."

It was hard to tell if Shura or Hataka were more surprised. The red-head had prepared some juicy words for Hataka but found them unnecessary now. Hataka offered a grudging apology beneath Arthur's stern gaze.

"Now that everyone is on the same page, we can get underway," Arthur continued coolly. "One says there is a temple; the other says not. Neither return with evidence proving or disproving its existence, yet both speak of a boar. Now, how shall we address this?"

Hataka chose not to comment. This prompted the only female of the unknown group to speak. "Angel-san, we found the cave matching your description and investigated. Aengus and Takumi retired early due to an injury, but the rest of us explored the cave as ordered. According to the archaeologists' expertise, there was no evidence of a civilization present."

"Just the mark of a glacier long past," added Hataka.

"Then you went to the wrong cave," Rin said. Hataka looked like someone spit in his face. "Come on, it was a massive temple! There was an altar and a birdbath and—"

"A birdbath? This is a joke." The last man's tight features made him look like a strict, undesirable adult version of Yukio. Dark, framed eyes sized Rin up. "I flew out from my dig in Malaysia for this? A child spouting fantasies?"

"Well, it's probably for the best since you missed something as big as a temple."

The man bristled. "Insolent little—"

"Where are the pictures?"

"What?" the man snapped.

"The pictures," Shura repeated. Her voice softened, warm and welcoming. Experience told those who knew her she was at the end of her patience, and a fed-up Shura was a wonder to watch so long as you weren't on the receiving end. "Yer wastin' everyone's time trying to convince anyone like that. I want to see proof you went to the cave and proof that it's nothing but an air pocket. Otherwise the only thing yer provin' today is the air pocket up here." She tapped her temple.

The man stood angrily but once her request registered he began to deflate. "That's..."

"Did we take any photos?"

"We always document a dig with photos."

Hataka appeared shell-shocked. He rubbed the side of his temple with a grimace. The action proved contagious, the other archaeologists copying him.

This caught Arthur's interest. "Seems I was right to keep you," he began slowly. "We're going back to the mountain. All of us."

"What?"

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I am." He stood. "A team of archaeologists and high-class exorcists return with no evidence, no pictures, violating all procedural practices, and you of all people, Hataka, would never submit such a lousy, D-rated report."

Hataka reddened but Arthur continued, "Shall we add the coincidental injuries everyone in your group acquired? Or this mysterious boar two of you, despite not having any contact with the other, speak about? So yes, I am serious when I say we are all returning to the mountain. And this time, we'll do it right."

._..._.

._.

Two hours, a battle of wits, one nearly of fists, and a very awkward introduction session later, Rin found himself knee-deep in the snow again. The only difference was that this time, instead of a sniper rifle, the back of his head was kept warm by constant glares.

Honestly, the sniper rifle would have been better.

Rin sighed, letting his head fall back. _Lead the archaeologists this time_ , Arthur said. That meant going through the forest.

The trees were right ahead. As the wind picked loose snow off of their branches, so too did it stir an unsettled flutter in his stomach.

"You ok?"

Rin started, not expecting a voice. One of the archaeologists had caught up with him, the one who had mentioned the boar. Takara? Tadashi? "Just tired of trudging through snow."

The young man—Takumi—hummed, a small smile creasing his face. "I'm with you there. It's been a hell of a first assignment." He chuckled, breath clouding in the air.

"Was it really a buried temple?"

Rin glanced at the archaeologist. There seemed to be no ill-will behind those words. "Yeah, it was."

"Incredible," Takumi breathed, eyes sparkling. "I wonder what culture would build such a thing. The geological time scale indicates this area has always been a boreal forest—not an easy place to set up camp, let alone build a temple!"

"Wait, you believe me?"

He turned to Rin in surprise. "I don't see a reason why not. I don't imagine there's much to gain from lying to the Paladin's face."

He glanced over his shoulder. Probably eying the silver-eyed grouch. "The memory loss has been bothering me—that I can't remember the fall. I know people think it's a symptom, but it doesn't seem right. And the boar," he paused mid-thought. "I feel better going back. That way I can see it first-hand."

"Oi, gossip girls."

They turned, finding Shura plowing towards them. "The ladies back there are wondering how much farther."

"Why do you need me to say? You were there with me," Rin pointed out.

"I'm not the one leading this escapade, so it's your job." Aka, she needed an excuse to leave the grumps behind.

Rin threw her a playful smirk. She just couldn't be honest about wanting to escape them. Though he couldn't blame her for needing a break.

"Knock that smile off yer face, flame-brain."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell 'em not to ruffle their skirts. It's just past the trees."

Shura lingered, asking him about Yukio, classes, whether or not he'd made progress with Shiemi, teasing him when he reacted in an embarrassing fashion and dragged on whatever topic she could pull from the air. When it became obvious she was stalling, she fell back with the others.

"He's hard to please."

Rin recovered in time to hear Takumi.

"Hataka, I mean," Takumi clarified. "Damn great archaeologist and he knows it, but I think he loses himself in the work and forgets how to be around others."

"That's an understatement. He's working so much around statues he's started to look like one."

The man laughed. "Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so."

Okay, Rin decided not _all_ archaeologists were unbearable.

They entered the forest in silence. Takumi thankfully didn't pursue another topic, choosing instead to observe the surroundings. Rin did the same, hunting for the phenomenon he felt last time. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, but there were no voices, no bursts of energy, not even a breeze. The trees were silent and still, the mountain asleep.

They came out on the other side of the trees without incident and Arthur ordered them into a tight circle. His thoughts were obviously on the unknown boar.

"Stick close to one another. No one wanders off alone. We'll sweep the area piece by piece to make sure nothing is missed."

"Assuming anything is here," Hataka muttered.

Rin frowned but controlled his tongue. He was starting to have doubts.

What if the temple _wasn't_ there? What if it had been all inside his head?

The slabs were in sight. They were only a shade darker than the snow, unnoteworthy to the skimming eye. Not the grand entrance to a temple.

Shura said she'd seen it too.

"The entrance is inside those rocks," Rin explained, ignoring Arthur's only instruction.

"Oi! Stick with the group!"

Rin plowed ahead to the niche. He peered inside and felt his stomach drop.

"Why can you not follow the simplest of instructions!"

Arthur kicked through the snow after him, hand on the pommel of his broadsword. He stopped next to the teen.

A large hole in the ground was framed by a ring of soot.

Rin should feel relieved. It wasn't a hallucination. The voices, the boar, the temple, they were all real. So why did he feel uneasy?

The others arrived in shared disbelief and curiosity. Stone-faced Hataka pursed his lips. Rin made sure to flash him a triumphant grin. The archaeologist scowled and turned away.

Exwire: 1. Archaeologist: 0.

"Alright. Who wants to go first?"

Their descent down the hole was slow, mostly because each archaeologist insisted on pausing every few feet to look at each ridiculous piece of ice and take enough samples to build their own ice castle. Rin thought he'd burst into flames before half of them were even down.

They made it to the bottom— _finally_ —and the archaeologists regressed into sugar-high children inside a candy shop.

"By the gods, would ye look at the columns!"

"The sheer amount of architecture required to build this size of a dome, beneath the ice of all things."

"The script on the wall looks like a derivative of Egyptian hieroglyphs!"

"There's an altar. There must have been religious or cultural ceremonies. Lots of imagery of water and light, perhaps characteristics of their worshipped deity."

"The patterns on this stone... This has been exposed to high amounts of sunlight before."

"Maybe there used to be a hole to allow air and sunlight?"

"It's possible, but..."

Rin listened with half an ear. Their ideas were interesting, but the pale light from the tunnel was too much of a distraction.

He wasn't the only one affected either.

"Seems you feel it too," Mephisto said, drawing up next to him. He gave Rin an appraising look before turning towards the tunnel. "Now the question, what is it?"

"If the archaeologists are right, then something you are not to go near," Arthur joined in.

"Oh? What are they thinking?"

Arthur remained stone-faced. That couldn't keep the haughty gleam from his eye. Until the loud archaeologist from before shouted out, "There's a lot o' evidence suggestin' this used ta be on the surface. Couldn't have been an avalanche or else everythin' would be destroyed. They must o' buried it fer some reason!"

"Aengus, hush. You'll bring down the place."

"Oh! Oh, sorry."

Buried? Rin scrutinized the temple, now noticing the missed details. The columns were damaged, some pieces strewn on the floor. The clear blue walls had dark blotches of sooty-grey, especially near the top—the top. It was haphazardly strewn together, like a bunch of massive snowballs rolled against one another, the gaps between packed with snow. Not stable at all.

Movement caught his eye. Something at the tunnel's entrance had attracted him, though he wasn't sure what. Then he saw it—a shadow crossed the dim lighting.

He slipped away unsee, moving fast down the tunnel, the same unearthly hue from the crystals guiding the way. The end came quicker than last time, empty save for the strange wall.

Impossible. He turned in a circle. How could it disappear when it had nowhere to go but the way they came?

Confused, he faced the wall once more. Strange, there was no sense of foreboding or weird presence telling him to turn back this time.

He placed his hand on the wall. It was cool and smooth and thrumming with energy, same as before. A small breeze carried a dangerous thought to him.

What was on the other side?

Something told him this thing was meltable. He focused a small amount of heat into his hand, thinking to test the theory. The wall resisted and pushed back. So he added a little more heat. The wall pushed back harder.

Now it was getting interesting. He placed both hands on the walls.

Crunching ice approached from behind. "Oi, Rin, what are ya—"

His flames roared to life.

"Baka! What the hell are ya doing!"

He cursed and stopped the experiment when he realized Shura was behind him. However, the damage was done.

Where his flames had touched, black symbols appeared on the wall like shadows. They spread outwards from the center, crackling as the wall began to weaken.

The group must have heard the noise as many footsteps came running from behind.

"Everyone okay?"

"What's that noise?"

"I told you not to touch anything!" Arthur roared, pushing past them all. He grabbed Rin by the collar and threw him backward. He landed on his tailbone, momentarily paralyzed as the group watched the wall crumble in awe.

The black symbols flashed once and burned into the ice, hissing and releasing steam. Seconds later, the wall fractured and fell into a pile on the ground.

No one moved, no one dared to take a breath. The gaping hole led into darkness.

Nothing happened.

"I'll give us some light." A low-burning lantern came to life in Aengus' hand.

"Give it here," requested Arthur. He walked over the broken wall and held it into the unknown.

The archeologists cooed at the sight. Rin recovered from the mild paralysis and rose, grumbling under his breath about common courtesy, and wove between them to look over Arthur's shoulder.

It was another room, large enough that the lantern couldn't light the entire thing. More debris littered the floor, as though the place had once caved on itself.

"What is this?" Hataka brushed passed them with his own lantern. On the floor, somewhat covered by fallen chunks of ice and building material, were barely visible symbols. Hataka fished out a bizarre device from his backpack. It was a Rubik's cube look-a-like and when held up to them, whirred and clicked four times. The archaeologists began murmuring with mixed emotions.

"A level four seal," Hataka reported.

Arthur drew up next to him as everyone else filtered carefully in. "Can you trace its origin?"

"Already on it." It seemed Hataka was more agreeable once in the field. The gadget clicked and chirped as he fiddled with it.

Rin leaned over to Shura. "What is that?"

"A Zahryk's Cube. It detects seals."

"Oh. What's a level four seal mean?"

"Means something nasty might be here."

"And because you can't follow the simplest of instructions, you might have released it on all of us," Arthur said scathingly. "Shall I add a leash to your collar?"

"No, sir!" Rin said with a salute.

"Then. Stay. Put." He returned to Hataka. Rin sneered at his back.

"He has a point, Rin."

He sighed, ready for the next lecture from Shura.

"What were ya thinking, breaking down the wall like that?"

He crossed his arms, pouting because he knew he didn't have a good answer. "I wanted to see what was behind it—ow!"

She slapped the back of his head. He grumbled but didn't complain. It was probably deserved, even if it wasn't civil.

His eyes finished adjusting to the new level of light and settled to the right of the room. "Uhh… what is that?"

The Zatch cube stopped clicking. "Ice characteristic," Hataka said, "no surprise there, but..."

"But?"

"Guys?"

"But the age doesn't seem right."

"What does it say?"

Hataka held it for Arthur to see.

"One-thousand years?"

"What?" nearly everyone exclaimed in unison.

"A thousand!"

"The Order came into existence only two-hundred years ago."

"Such a complex seal, one-thousand years ago?"

"Hello!" Rin shouted, waving his arms. Hataka and Arthur turned to him. "Woah, talk about a double-kill. Can you ease off the glares? There's some weird-looking statues over there."

Frowning, Shura made a quick incantation. An orb of light appeared in front of her.

"Should'a just used that in the first place," Aengus snorted, watching her direct it.

It came to rest over two statues. The first was an intimidating, raging male, topless, muscles taut, arm outstretched as if to strangle the second.

The second statue interested Rin more. It was feminine, hair blown back by some unseen force. Ancient armor protected the vitals and joints of her slim figure. She looked weary and battle worn, a rather severe wound beneath her ribs, yet her set jaw and eyes showed nothing except determination.

The detail of the sculpturing was immaculate. Rin could picture the intense battle between these two as though it were happening before him in real time.

"Seals lasting this long are almost non-existent. The strongest seals now need to be redone every few decades. Whoever made this—"

"—had an incredible life energy," Mephisto finished, causing Shura to jump.

"Get back," Arthur ordered suddenly, shooting Mephisto a warning glance. "We're calling in the isolation team."

" _What_?" Hataka protested. "You're going to cut off the area before we even get a chance to study these?"

"Yes." Arthur examined the two figures as though they were wild beasts. "Did you notice? The seals center around those two statues."

(1) The German word _gift_ translates to _poison_ in English.

(2) Mephisto Pheles is an allusion to a demon from German folklore. I'm not sure when or where the demon first appeared but from the allusions in the anime/manga, I'm guessing they're basing his character off of Mephistopheles from Goethe's Faust. There are many similarities between the two. Mephisto speaks German, can transform into a small dog (the same happens in Goethe's play), and *ANIME SPOILER* at the end of season 1, makes a bet with a writer (basically the premise of Faust). Then there's the added bonus of Mephisto referring to himself as Johann Faust, the man Goethe's play is said to be based on.

 **AN**

 **Vielen dank fuer lesen, meine Lieben! Always looking for helpful reviews on the writing. I feel I've grown better at portraying scenes and emotions. Did a lot of reading in my sparse free time and it helped to learn by example.**

 **I'm excited to start writing about the upcoming chapters (already have, actually, haha!). Stick around to find out about the history behind these statues, and what's in store for Rin and the others!**

 **—IgnisVulpes**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**

 **The perspective was not easy to write in this chapter.** **For those of you who tolerate my style, thanks for your continued feedback and support.**

 **Froehliches Lesen~**

 **-IgnisVulpes**

* * *

.

"A dream is just a dream, but only if you want it to be." - Anonymous

._..._.

._.

Empty.

That's all it was. Void of thought. Void of feeling. Its sense of awareness stopped just at _knowing_ it existed. And why did it exist? Because it did. Nothing more, nothing less.

And so it would have been, were it not capable of more.

A constant noise to the left. Vibrations. Pressure. A strange rhythm. A periodic touch.

It began to notice and in turn to wonder.

What were these things? What was this place? What was _it_?

Experiments began. A twitch here, a shiver there. These small interactions defined the limits of its existence.

It grew in awareness.

No longer satisfied with just _knowing_ it existed, it began sorting through the space around it. Hot and cold, light and dark, soft and hard, dry and wet, loud and quiet. Opposites became distinguishable. Vibrations had patterns. Certain events became predictable. Light _pitter patter_ meant something soft and wet. Rhythmic shuffling preceded odd sounds to the side. Smooth, quiet _ticks..._

When the _ticks_ first came, it reacted the same as with everything else new: listened, made observations, drew on prior experience, compared.

The _ticks_ stopped nearby.

How to categorize them? They were softer than the _pitter patters,_ quicker than the—

A cold, sharp, hard edge interrupted its thoughts. Unpleasant sensations completely derailed them. A foggy, hidden instinct told it to a _void the object_ , but how? Something strong held it in place.

The edge dug deeper. The unpleasantness grew stronger. Unable to tolerate not knowing, its eyes opened for the first time.

The light became ten times stronger, the space one-hundred times more detailed, the world one-thousand times more confusing—

The edge vanished with a _clang_. Watering, lidded eyes landed on a blurry outline. Something stood there—tall, symmetrical, with two skinny masses to stand on and two shorter ones raised.

It squinted further and felt more than knew that this something was alive. The creature had pale features, a scrunched face and... wide, seeing orbs.

A hole appeared in the creature's face. From it came a sound that was new, foreign, and utterly fascinating. Different from the noises which had become a constant in the space. The creature snapped the hole shut and reached towards it.

Somewhere to the side, the beeping grew faster.

The sound had a bizarre effect. The creature stopped and studied the noise for a few moments. Then it picked strange objects off the floor. Upon straightening, the creature continued to stare at it.

Normally this would be the time to analyze and categorize the oddity, but a constant throb had turned on a different part of its mind. Now it concerned itself only with the creature's next move.

And move it did. The creature turned and disappeared from the space.

It waited. The unpleasant sensation settled to a dull ache. A trail of richly colored fluid stained the part of its being where the sharp object had touched.

Unwanted thoughts plagued its mind. Would the creature come back? Would it be touched again? What was this sensation plaguing it?

This was the first experience to introduce it to _pain_.

* * *

Time was a foreign concept. In a place where the light never changed, where movement came only in the arrival of the creatures, where there was nothing new in the routine, time passed in unseen quantities. Beeping was the only constant, becoming the second, minute and hour hand of an invisible clock.

It came to understand boredom.

The only relief came from the creatures. There were three of them in total. After their first encounter, it equated creatures with sharp objects and pain. It watched with bated breath as they moved about the space, fiddled with objects, carried things around. It recoiled whenever they drew near, endured as they touched and prodded, and took too long to relax after they left, but the encounters always finished as quickly as they began. No pain, no sharp edges.

Without a repeat of the first encounter, it grew accustomed to them. It even began to anticipate their arrival. Predicting their actions and learning how they communicated suddenly became a great way to pass time. They even seemed to go out of their way to help.

"Light," one would say, and the room would brighten.

Another would offer a pleasantly cold, clear liquid. "Water."

The third didn't talk, coming and going only with the quiet _ticks._

Interacting like this, it learned quickly. The creatures had names and genders. The silent one was _Aoi_. The one that fiddled with the _machines_ was _Hiito_. The one who brought water was _Misaki_.

Misaki was the one to teach it the most. She was smaller than the other two males and always brought something with her like the small, sliced red item called an _apple._

The taste was ticklish but not unpleasant. Misaki explained it was _sweet._ Hopefully, she'd bring more. Instead, the next visit brought a curious smelling thing. Misaki snorted when it tried to eat it. Apparently, _flowers_ were only meant to be looked at.

Once, during her visit, she said a peculiar word: _scientist_. People who study, she explained. Study things like Myō.

It mouthed the word _study_ and tilted its head, an action that between them signaled a question.

She answered, "To watch and to learn."

Moving was hard with the straps, but it managed a small gesture between them.

Only Misaki seemed to understand these small movements. "You study us?"

It nodded. Then mouthed the word _Myō_ with another head tilt.

Her lips quirked up. "You," she pointed. "A name. Do you like?"

Another head tilt.

She didn't explain, only continued that strange upturn of her mouth. Their ritual resumed. Misaki began untying the cloth covering it. Then she did something odd.

She turned to the person at the back of the room—a _guard_ —and asked them to leave.

Even with dark clothes and dark hair, the guard's demeanor darkened. A fast-paced, back-and-forth exchange began between the two, too quick and with too many new words for it to catch anything besides _girls_ , _privacy_ , and _danger_.

The guard turned around. Based on the resigned sigh and the way Misaki resumed the task with a sour face, it reasoned her request was denied.

Why this mattered, it did not know. Was it important enough to cause the downturn of her face? She was more appealing with an up-turn. Whenever asked a question, her lips would curl upwards, and since it always asked questions, things worked out on their own.

 _Privacy_? it mouthed, tilting its head.

The up-turn revived. Pleased, it waited while Misaki paused in thought.

"To have time and space to yourself, with no one else around. For us girls, it is important."

 _Us?_

Her lips spread wide, teeth now showing, face angled in a way that the contraption above her nose fell lower than usual and gave a clear view of her eyes' strange color.

"Girls. Like you and I."

The beeping skipped without warning, and Misaki glanced away questioningly.

 _It_ was a _she_.

* * *

The sound of the lock pulled her from sleep. Drowsy and disorientated, it took a moment to find her bearings. It felt too soon for another visit, but it wouldn't be the first time Misaki came early with another—

The door opened. Her thoughts froze.

It wasn't Misaki. Or the other scientists.

The unfamiliarity wore a light-colored outfit, had slanted green eyes above an upturned mouth and was by far the strangest creature to visit.

Mephisto, he introduced, pointing to himself. He stayed on the far side of the room and spoke slowly, but the more he talked, the less she understood. He used too many new terms, too many sweeping gestures for her to tell what was important, and left too much distance between them for her to see his eyes.

Perhaps he noticed how her gaze never settled long in one place on him. He sighed and fell silent, perusing her over instead. The skin prickled wherever his eyes fell, the hairs rising when they stalled on her arms.

She stiffened as he approached. Now close, she could see a familiar glow in his eyes, the same as the one the scientists wore around her. Her nose twitched. Foreign scents lingered on him. Some were acrid and unappealing. Others beckoned her closer, invited her with delectable and tantalizing odors and she could only guess what lay beyond that door.

Slow fingers traced the dark lines on her arm.

She hadn't felt them at first, distracted as she was. His touch was gentle, but that tenderness did not reach his eyes.

 _"Humans and their insatiable curiosity."_

The words clicked easily. She snapped up to his face in understanding.

He took note of this. _"So you know the old tongue?"_

She hesitated, but that was enough. His lips curled and he looked so very different from the scientists then that she felt he belonged in an entirely different category.

He pulled off a glove and regained her focus. His fingers were long and pale, the tips dark and cold as they skimmed over the exposed part of her chest. She ignored the odd caress, focusing instead on the man's face. More than any other part of these creatures, it was their eyes that gave them away.

Yet once again, this one was different. His eyes were clear, held no shadows or intense glow, and it left her confused and uncertain.

The smooth pads paused at her pulse point. _"Interesting."_

He could feel the effect he had on her through the pads of his fingers, in case the errant beeping to the side wasn't enough.

 _"That's quite a glare you have."_

Yet the silent demand went unheeded and he remained too close.

 _"Do you not speak because you are mute or because you have not spoken for so long? Centuries, perhaps?"_

Banging from the other side of the door interrupted their one-sided conversation. Loud voices shortly followed.

He sighed and replaced his glove without looking away. She did not disappoint and met him all the way through. _"Time's up already, it seems."_

His lips stretched into an up-turn somehow different from Misaki's. _"If you find yourself tired of being their pet, find me. I guarantee a much better use for you than a lab rat."_

Keys jingled and the door opened. Three guards and two scientists rushed inside, the stranger immediately throwing his hands up. A quick conversation ensued in the tongue she didn't understand and he was escorted out.

Misaki asked her if the man did anything.

She thought for a moment. Despite the uneasiness about him, the man hadn't actually done anything.

Misaki breathed a sigh of relief when she shook her head.

Or had he done something? Even after Misaki said not to worry, even after her pulse returned to normal, even after the door closed and she was alone once more, the words _lab rat_ did not leave her thoughts.

* * *

The first time she dreamed was the first time she thought something was wrong.

She expected to wake before the scientists' next visit as per usual. Yet when her eyes opened, it was not to the bright lights of the empty room.

This place was bright, yes, but not the uniform whiteness she had grown used to. It stretched on and on in a gradient scale of many different colors, some of which she did not know the name of. The sheer extent to which the land stretched seemed impossible. She marveled at what it meant for something to be so _massive_ that walls didn't exist.

The confusion only deepened when she looked down. Furs and strange shiny pieces replaced her thin garbs. Two curved devices rested bilaterally on her hip. She traced the smooth contours and found a deep peace in doing so. The outfit hugged all the right places, felt familiar and comforting and warm even with her arms and legs exposed to the elements—or rather, element.

She looked around. Trees crowded behind and below her, spiraling down a vicious slope until they were reduced to nothing more than dots against the whiteness. A layer of white covered their rich greens, the same as the small objects falling from above.

She held out a hand. One of the objects fell into her palm, its unique shape melting to water. Snow, she recognized. It was cold. Cold like the air, the wind, the ground, and yet it all made her feel warm.

The warmth remained when she woke, but the sense of peace did not when she saw the white-washed walls around her once again.

* * *

" _Blood_. Do you know what it is?"

She made to shake her head but the scientist didn't even look.

They were in a new room. Myō didn't know when the move happened, but the heaviness behind her eyes meant she had been out a while. Did Misaki know? Would she be able to find her?

Aoi, the scientist that had never spoken to her, showed no sign of his prior disinterest towards her. She never felt at ease in his presence, a testament to their first encounter, but being alone in a different room with him intensified this feeling until it was barely containable beneath the surface.

And there was a good reason to be on edge. Aoi grabbed a scalpel and dragged it across his arm in one smooth motion. The skin split easily. Red liquid trickled out.

There was no flinch, no sound of protest. Even Myō shifted a little in discomfort, but Aoi just held his arm to the light and examined it with his usual seriousness. "This is blood. Everything that lives has it. Everything that lives needs a — of it. There are — with —, and it holds many —."

She didn't understand everything, but when he looked at her, she understood that whatever was coming would be unpleasant. Those emotionless grey eyes shone. Her gaze flicked briefly to the scalpel.

"The — body takes — from one to three — to — a cut. Your body — eleven, — twelve —. — but is —, — it is not a — but a — one. Either way, it is nothing short of a —."

He was quite talkative while pulling on those gloves.

"Hn. I don't — in —. Those who do are —, — on — power to — their problems."

He made a trilling noise. Rubbery fingers exposed her upper body to air. The cold didn't bother her, but the unnatural smelling dark liquid* he rubbed onto her abdomen did.

"I have a —," he explained. "I — need to see it in —."

He picked up the only tool whose sharp edge and metallic shine she recognized.

The beeping quickened.

"Forgive me. I'm not — to be —, but — and pain — your body's —. I cannot — for — comfort."

She didn't understand, would never fully understand, but when his hand came down and pain threatened to drown her sanity, she found herself clinging to the strange man's words.

"What — your blood holds… I will find out."

* * *

Misaki hadn't come back.

She breathed slowly, ignoring the heat and dryness in her throat.

Misaki was gone but she wasn't alone. Three figures stood at the back of the room, never moving or speaking.

Guards.

They had been there ever since Aoi—the thought of him made her shudder—finished with the scalpel.

She controlled her shivering and tried to swallow. Her throat ached for moisture. Why wasn't Misaki bringing water?

She licked her split lips, the thought only making her thirst worse. Her body felt awful: hot, aching, weak. She didn't know what dehydration was, but she knew what her body craved. "W…ah...tur…"

Her voice cracked, sounded gruff and laden with dust from disuse, but it was there.

And based on how the guards shifted, they had heard.

"Wah...tur—"

"You are not to talk. Be quiet."

They responded. Did that mean they understood? Listening and understanding was one thing, but speaking and being understood? A thrill shot through her, momentarily masking the pain.

"Whai?" she asked. "Whai no tauk?"

Perhaps a trick of the lighting, but their grips seemed to tighten on their devices.

She tried again. "Whai no t—"

"It's an order."

"Oi, don't talk to it."

 _It_ , not _she_.

"Horder?"

The middle-guard ignored the other man and responded. "Order." His voice was sharp and punctuated but… he answered. "From — above. Now quiet."

She followed his words and glanced up to see this order. "Whai no tauk?"

The wall did not provide an answer. "Why no wauter?"

"You can't have any," middle-guard said.

"Cal," warned the other.

"Why no?"

"Orders."

She paused to alleviate the tension pulling on her stomach. The skin stretched in an unplanned manner and she hissed quietly as the wound cracked open.

"Good morning."

The voice and sound of the door closing had her immediate attention. Aoi entered. He wore the usual: a gown—surprisingly white despite his bloody fascinations—with black clothes underneath and glasses that rested crookedly no matter how many times readjusted.

The scientist approached without pause. "Let's see the progress."

He snapped on a pair of gloves and began peeling, poking, and prodding, talking to himself as he did so. The words were unfamiliar but considering where his attention lay, they were likely about her wounds. As she watched his face light up and his eyes sparkle, she realized it wasn't cutting he enjoyed, but what happened after.

He glanced up as if feeling her gaze. After adjusting his glasses only for them to fall crooked the moment his hand came away, he continued, "—, pulse good. No sign of —." He scratched something down on the table beside her.

She took the opportunity. "Wahtur?"

The scratching stopped. Cool grey eyes turned on her, their intensity making her think twice about speaking.

"When did it — talking?" he asked at last.

"A — ago. Sir," the guard added as the scientist turned to him.

"And why was I not —?"

"It — since—"

"—?"

The guard paused. Thought the words were a mystery, the scientist's tone was not. Myō knew he was not in a good mood.

"Yes, — you were — to come —."

"Really? And — I was here, when did you — on telling me? When did you — you knew — to — its — or not?"

"I..."

The scientist made a weird rattling in his throat. "Don't be so —! I'm just curious, Cal-kun." He moved to the table beside her and began sifting through the contents on top.

Myō watched him cautiously.

"You know, I'm — looking for more — scientists. If you think you have the —, might I — a —?"

"Sir, it was not my — to—"

"—. Intent or not, you made a — on — and no — knowledge. I'm only asking you to do it again." He beckoned Cal-kun over.

"Sir, I really don't—"

"Get over here."

The underlying threat was enough to move the guard. An unpleasant feeling put Myō on edge.

There was another brief exchange. Then the guard was standing above her, his unease palpable.

"I don't want to do this."

"It's —!" A hand clapped the guard's shoulder. Now both of them were looking down at her. "I was — too when I — my first —."

The scientist opened a bottle with a familiar scent. Her body instinctively pulled inwards.

"Put these on. You can — with the —. Make a — from here to here."

The guard looked at him stupidly. "With a —?"

"With a scalpel," the scientist corrected. The word made her hairs rise on end. The beeping quickened. "Don't worry about cutting —, but don't hit the —. It's about a —. You need to put those on."

The guard balked. "Sir, I—I will not do this."

She waited for their next move, paying special attention to their hands.

The scientist sighed. "Do you know why I've — the three of you here?"

The guard's jaw worked on itself. "Yes."

They exchanged a few words and the guard's posture loosened. What did that mean? Was that good? The air between the two seemed to diffuse, but the tension did not leave her body. The guard looked more at ease, so why didn't she feel the same?

In a smooth and unaltered motion, the scientist pressed and dragged the scalpel down her arm. Myō jerked skin split, as the fire registered. She was too weak to pull away, her throat too dry to allow anything more than a few agonized and errant breaths.

It hurt.

It hurt.

 _It hurt._ Her body shook, her face contorted, but she made herself watch his torturously slow progress.

Why wasn't it ending? Why was this happening? Why was the guard shouting? Why wasn't the scientist listening? Why was there no water? Why was there so much blood? Why was she a _lab rat_?

The edge left and the blazing fire settled into a low burn, but that didn't stop the shaking.

"There. See, Cal-kun?"

No response.

"This is my —. And your — is to stand there. Not shout. Not talk. Not even think. To watch and —. That's it."

Without the strength to hold it, her head rolled. The guard's face seemed pale. The scientist ignored him and began cleaning the blood away, his touch and attention gentle almost as if he wasn't the source of the wound.

She wanted Misaki. She opened her mouth but only hot air rushed out. The room was spinning. Darkness called out, promising relief. Her mind began slipping.

In the last moments of wakefulness, she remembered the snow-covered land. Did such a place exist? Without walls, without straps, without scalpels?

Was it possible to find?

* * *

The light was excruciating. Her face scrunched against the unforgiving rawness of her eyes. As the bright dots faded from her vision, she noticed a blurry outline in a nearby chair. An unusual response flooded her senses, causing her heart to speed and her mind to whirl.

 _"Someone had a rough night."_

Her mind was in such a frenzy that she barely understood the words, but then she realized that she _could_ understand them. She forced herself to calm down and examine the creature again.

The man fiddled with a colorful cube, his posture relaxed and unhurried. He glanced up and she recognized him as the strange man from before. One side of his lips curled.

She wanted to ask a question, but a dry wheeze came out instead.

A glass of water appeared with a _snap_. She stared at it then glanced back at the man who fiddled with the cube as though nothing had happened. Nevermind how it got there, at that moment it was the most incredible object in existence. Her thirst intensified ten-fold as she struggled thoughtlessly forward. An arc of fire traveled up her arm and she fell back with a sharp inhale.

 _"Allow me."_

Once the fire settled to a tolerable burn, she noticed the glass situated before her. Cold, blissfully tasteless fluid touched her lips and she forgot all about the pain.

He dropped the cube and looked on with his head in hand. _"And they call_ us _demons."_

She didn't respond, too concerned with finding out how much she could drink without choking. Apparently, it was more than the glass could hold. As though summoned by her desires, the empty glass was replaced by a larger full one. She slowed down with this one, relishing the feel of the liquid hydrating her body. Vaguely, she recalled someone sitting next to her.

 _"Why... are you here?"_ she asked weakly between swallows.

 _"Why am_ I _here? Aren't you the one who wanted to see me again?"_

How had he known? Could he read minds? She saved this detail under the title _Mephisto._

As if reading her train of thought, he explained, " _It was only a matter of time. I figured I would check on you since I have a free moment."_ He glanced at his arm. _"Although not that long of a free moment._ _Of course, if I'm wrong_ — _"_

Her voice was stronger now. _"No. I want to leave."_

She hadn't even finished before he stood and clapped his hands together. _"Excellent! I'm more than happy to provide the means. There are a few stipulations, but I'm sure you'll have no trouble accepting."_

 _"Stipulations?"_

His lips widened. _"Conditions. As in, things you must do in order for me to get you out of here."_

Images of scalpels and blood flashed through her mind, but her features remained neutral. Though he might have seen the flicker of doubt in her eyes.

He . _"Do you know who you are?"_

She stared into the empty glass. _"The scientists call me Myō."_

He raised an eyebrow. _"That's what they call you. What do you call yourself?"_

The bottom of the glass was smooth and clear and if she looked hard enough, had the outline of a face, one she didn't recognize. She narrowed her eyes. The figure's eyes narrowed too.

 _"Myō is fine."_

The strength of his gaze was tangible.

 _"Is that so. I was hoping for something more_ — _"_ he waved his hand _"—exotic. Well, you'll get some looks but… hmm, you'll get looks no matter what."_

 _"You mentioned stipulations."_

It was strange how far this man's lips could stretch, how the expression didn't match his eyes. _"Three of them."_

He walked away a little, hands clasping behind him. _"One. Your location will be kept track of 24/7. That means at all times. Similarly, you may not leave the confines of the city. The moment you do, the Order will be notified and a team sent to retrieve you. Whatever happens then will be out of my hands."_

He stopped. _"Two. You will cooperate with the Order and continue their tests at their discretion. This is to remain secret. That means you can't tell anyone."_

 _"I know what secret means."_

He threw a lazy look over his shoulder for some reason but didn't comment. _"Three. You will shadow a student with the intention of enrolling in school, my school."_

Student? Enrolling? She saved these foreign words for later.

 _"If you are not deemed a threat by then, the Order shall reassess your status."_

 _"And if I follow these… stipulations?"_ she asked.

He rotated on his heels. _"Then I can get you out of here."_

 _"And if I don't?"_

His lips pinched. Slowly, he returned to her side. A gentle but meaningful finger trailed down her arm, close to the raw flesh. _"That, I wouldn't recommend."_

Her eyes hardened.

 _"I don't think there's much to think over here, but if you want me to come back—"_

 _"No,"_ she interrupted. _"I want to leave."_

He blinked. _"Though I said that, I wasn't expecting such a quick decision. There must be a reason beyond the scientists driving you to leave?"_

The snow-covered mountains. The sense of _wrongness._ Maybe he knew about them? She looked at him,

 _"There is none,"_

The man's eyes gleamed. It was a long moment before he said, _"You'll need to learn Japanese."_

Japanese? Misaki mentioned it before. It was… was the language of the people.

"I know little," she informed in said language. "Scientist speak."

He made an odd noise in his throat, one Misaki made all the time, and pressed a finger to her forehead. "Not enough."

Her nose crinkled. _"I will learn enough."_

 _"You'll have to if you want to survive."_ A heaviness entered his words, one that had her paying special attention to them. _"Many things have changed. You were asleep for a long time."_

It didn't feel like it. Her arm still ached and they were still in the strange room. Was time measured differently between them? She saved this thought for later.

 _"When can I leave?"_ she asked.

 _"Ah, there's one more thing. An extra, you could say."_

 _"Which is?"_

He sat down in the chair and crossed his legs. _"I want to make a bet_ — _as my incentive for helping."_

Again, a sense of apprehension took hold. Going by the eager air around him, this _bet_ seemed not to be in her favor. The man had power. He was the only means of getting out and by the sound of these stipulations, would continue to play a large role when and if she did. Now he sought more?

Would it be worse than being a _lab rat_?

" _What bet?"_


End file.
